War of the Legendary Beasts
by BEWhiteDragon-00
Summary: Five girls must fight using their elemental powers and true monster forms to save Earth from the evil of one man and his master plan. Contains several crossovers. Rated M for violence and lots of language. Please R
1. Prologue

**War of the Legendary Beasts

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Prologue

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**A/N**: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Duel Masters (its monsters), Hellboy (only used one of its monsters), Eragon (used spells only), Warcraft III, Doom III (only used one ofits monsters), Resident Evil (only used one of its characters), and I think that's it. If I'm missing anything,please tell me.Read and review and I hope you enjoy the story. Also, I may have gotten a few things wrong about certain things so if I did, let me know.

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"We have to choose the next 5 people to have the elemental powers," Hyozanryu said. 

"Yes we do but who shall we choose?" Tranquility asked. "The people we have chosen have all died. The people we chose were stupid enough to allow people to find out about their secret sooner than expected. For heaven's sake, one of them was stupid enough to change in public. They weren't very clever."

"So this time we must choose five people who are smart and cunning," Gren said.

"Yes but we must also look at their personality," Desdemona said.

"What do you mean by personality?" Avani asked. "Like we should get someone who doesn't like violence? What does personality have to do with this?"

"Maybe if they're tough and don't allow people to mess with them, then maybe, just maybe, this can be a more successful choice!" Gryphon yelled.

The six gods continued to argue about whom to choose to obtain elemental power. "ENOUGH!" Slifer yelled.

Everyone was silent again. "Maybe if we can just all calm down, we can decide!" he cried.

Slifer was an extremely long snake-like red dragon with spikes running along his back. He had very large wings, razor-sharp claws, a smaller mouth on top of his main one (The smaller one was used more for attacks and the larger one was used a lot for talking but was sometimes used to attack as well), and he was also known as Slifer the Sky Dragon. He was the god of electricity, one of the six elements known on Earth. He was one of the more intelligent gods and one of the wisest. He was usually the one who had to stop the others when they argued. He's also the one who helps choose five people to have powers. "Now all of you calm down," he ordered. "We mustn't hurry. We have time. But if we continue to fight like this, we'll never give powers to the five people and the world will be at its doom."

"You're right Slifer," Gren said.

Gren's full name is Gren Maju Da Eiza. He was a snake-like creature as well. He had dragon-like wings, six spider-like legs, had sharp claws, and had green scaly skin but he's covered in orange plating. It's not exactly metal armor. But it's more like hard skin like the type beetles have over their body. He also had horns on both sides of his head. He was the god of fire. He's one of the gods who fights a lot as well. He isn't that wise but he's a fighter. He likes to fight to show his enemy whose boss. "So…how do we determine who to choose?" Desdemona asked.

Desdemona is sort of like a demon. She had green skin, very dark purple hair, so dark it looked like black at times, a third eye in the middle of her forehead but it was positioned as vertical slit, purple eyes, and was wearing a dark purple dress with black sort-of high heels. She was the goddess of darkness. Darkness isn't exactly an element but to the gods it was considered one. She was more of a loner. She liked spending time in darkness alone. She was tough and mean at times. But she would help the others at times too. She was another one of the smartest and was sometimes wise. "First of all, I think we should do what Desdemona suggested. We should look at their personality as well. It could help the chosen ones," Hyozanryu suggested.

Hyozanryu was also a dragon but not an ordinary one. He was made from rock hard frost that could never melt. He was icy blue and his claws, his horn on the top of his nose, and his horns on the back of his head were made from a diamond that, for some odd reason, turned into a golden color. He had black eyes as well. He was the god of frost/ice. He loved to be in icy terrains, especially in low temperatures. He's another intelligent one and he's less of a fighter. He's got the blood of a silver dragon in him. He doesn't like to fight a lot and he would fight _only_ when he had to, since silver dragons didn't like to fight either and only fought if they had to. And he always looked on the bright side. "But then what should we look for? Someone who's tough or someone who's parents had powers?" Tranquility asked.

Tranquility was a blue skinned woman with colorful hair. Her hair sparkled in the sunlight. She wore a long baby blue dress with tiny white spots on it. She also had blue eyes. She was the goddess of water. She is another one of the wisest. She likes to spend time in water. And at times, she would turn into a mermaid. She had the ability to transform into any creature of the water. She was a strong fighter and usually depended on water to fight. She hated it when something would harm the water. Like when oil was found in the water or when garbage would kill animals because of the peoples' carelessness. She was the one out of all the gods who actually _cared_ about her element so much. Everyone else's element couldn't be harmed except for water and earth. "We must look for someone who can keep a secret a secret for a long time. Yes it's true that everyone will eventually find out, but at least they can keep it secret," Gryphon explained.

Gryphon was a large eagle. He was turquoise, had red eyes, and yellow feet and beak. He was the god of wind. He loved making tornadoes with his wings and preferred to work alone. He believed that wind was the strongest element, hence the reason why he liked working alone in fights. He was an intelligent one and another one of the wisest. He was also known as Punished Eagle. People believed that he was condemned by the Devil Himself, which is why they believe is one reason he has red eyes. But then he was saved by God and became a god. Gryphon was just born with red eyes. He was also one of the fastest gods out of all seven. He would brag sometimes and it did annoy the others, but he was also a caring one. He would take care of other birds and animals. He would always try to make the others happy if they were upset. He was also funny. He made the others laugh everyday. "But we've been choosing those types, bird brain, and they proven to be pathetic," Avani noted.

Avani was a woman with braided dark purple hair. She had a chest plate on and her waist was wrapped with a leather belt. She had on black leggings as well. She had a sword with a wide blade and a green gem in the middle of the sword's handle. She was goddess of earth. She was a pretty mean person. That's why she was also known as The Unfriendly Amazon. She liked spending time in forests alone. She was the second fastest. She always put things around her in danger. She never liked listening nor taking orders from anyone else. She also believes that she's the best fighter. She called everyone names when she was ticked off. She didn't like to use her element powers a lot like the others. She liked fighting with her skills. She trained a lot for battle and rarely trained with the others. "Stop calling me bird brain!" Gryphon yelled. "I'm not stupid!"

"Yes you are," Avani said.

"You've been pissing me off all day! IS THERE EVER A TIME WHEN YOUR NOT CALLING US NAMES!" Gryphon yelled.

Every time one of the gods was angry, things would happen on Earth. For example, when Slifer is angry, there would be thunder storms on Earth or when Tranquility was angry, there would be tsunamis or tidal waves. Now that Gryphon was angry, there were tornadoes on Earth caused by his anger. "Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. The point is YOU'RE starting to tick me off! I'm trying to help you here!" Avani yelled.

Now there were a few earthquakes on Earth. "You're trying to help! You're making things worse for us! Why I outta—" Gryphon cried when he was stopped.

"ENOUGH YOU TWO! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR FIGHTING! WE'RE TRYING TO PROTECT THIS WORLD, NOT MAKE IT WORSE!" Slifer roared at the top of his lungs.

He opened a hole in the clouds to look at Earth. He could see thunder storms, tornadoes, and hear earthquakes occurring. He closed it and said, "Now Earth is going to be scarred again by our anger. We have to determine whose next."

"I would if Gryphon can just leave me alone!" Avani shouted.

"Leave you alone? I never—" Gryphon cried but he was interrupted again.

"Look you two just need to shut up! We have to do this first. Both of you need to calm down. _Especially_you Avani," Desdemona said.

"Well what about—" Avani started to say.

Suddenly a large snake made of water wrapped its serpentine body around Avani. It started squeezing her. "If you don't stop, we'll condemn you to Hell," Tranquility said.

"You can't do that!" Avani said.

"Yes we can. Slifer and I have been gods longer than you and the others have, so we are allowed to do things like that. Do you understand!"

"Yes."

"Now, calm down and shut up for the rest of the day."

The water snake let go of Avani. She then sat down and didn't talk. "Now we have to choose," Slifer said. "If we don't decide on whom to have powers, then Earth is already doomed. Any ideas?"

"I think I have one," Tranquility said. "All of the people we choose should be girls for one because there have been more boys than girls. And one of them should be tough, have temper issues, be determined to do things, intelligent, and should be sort of merciless. And another should be… happy a lot, protective, honest, and smart as well but doesn't act like it."

"Well, who has all those traits?" Gryphon asked. "We have thousands of people to choose from."

Slifer once again turned to the clouds. "Show me these female people who are destined to have these powers," he said.

A picture of a young girl appeared. She was maybe four years old. She had dark brown hair and light brown skin. She also had dark brown eyes. Then another picture of a young girl appeared. She had light skin, dark brown hair, but not too dark and brown eyes. She looked five. "Who are these people?" Slifer asked.

The clouds formed the names of the two young girls. "The light skinned one's name is Caitlin and the other one is Melissa," Slifer said.

"So…they must be destined to have the powers," Gryphon said.

"But which elements are they destined to control?" Slifer asked.

Below the names Caitlin and Melissa, the clouds spelled out earth and ice for Caitlin and fire and electricity for Melissa. "Then it shall be them for the first two," he said.

"We might need someone who also has a temper, is also tough, wise, helpful, protective, and intelligent," Desdemona suggested.

The clouds had already changed into another picture of a young girl with dark brown hair that looked like black, brown skin, and matching eyes. She too looked five. "It says her name is Gloria, Slifer. And it says she should get darkness," Tranquility said.

"She'll be another," Slifer said.

"Then the fourth shall be someone…with a temper like the other two, intelligent, sometimes tough, protective, caring, and maybe wise at times as well," Hyozanryu said.

The clouds again changed. Now a young girl with dark brown puffy hair that looked black, brown eyes, and light skin appeared. She looked five as well. "Her name is Ashley and she should get darkness as well," he said.

"Then we need just one more," Slifer said.

"This one should be shy, quiet, intelligent, more of a listener, helpful, and caring," Avani suggested.

The last picture appeared. This time the girl had blonde hair with streaks of brown, blue eyes, and light skin. She looked four. "She should have wind and water," Tranquility said.

"Well thanks for your suggestion Avani," Slifer noted, looking at Avani, then at everyone else. "These five girls should have the powers they're destined to have. But now we must determine who will be a dragon, a vampire, a pirate, a witch, and another vampire."

"It says that Caitlin should be the pirate for she loves pirates, Ashley and Gloria should be vampires since they love vampires, Melissa should be the dragon because she loves dragons, and Jessica should be the witch because she likes witches," Hyozanryu explained.

"Then they shall be what they have been chosen to be. But they must remain in human disguise. We don't want the same things happening," Slifer noted.

"What skills should they master in time?" Desdemona asked.

"Gloria and Ashley shall be masters of darkness and death. Caitlin shall be blade master and master of earth and ice. Jessica shall be master of wind and water and spells. And Melissa shall be master of fire and electricity, and monsters," Gryphon explained.

"Ok. What shall they be experts on?" Slifer asked.

"Ashley and Gloria shall be experts on death, meaning they can determine how somebody died and see what they did before they died. Caitlin should be weapons expert, meaning she can determine what weapon was used in a death or she'll know all weapons. Jessica should be a spell expert, meaning she can determine what spell was used in an area or death. Melissa should be monster expert, meaning she can determine what monster was used in a death or what monster was in a specific area," Desdemona explained.

"Then it's settled. Jessica, Caitlin, Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa shall get their powers when they're ten," Slifer explained. "And hopefully they'll be more successful than the others. If not, we're all doomed."

6


	2. Last Day of School

Chapter 1: Last Day of School

_Come on, you stupid bell! Ring! Ring! _24-year-old Ashley Azaelia Montes thought as she looked at the clock. Today was finally June 17th, 2012, a Friday, and next week was the start of summer break and she wanted school to end already. Ashley and her friends Gloria Angelina Zuniga, Caitlin Marie Thomas, Jessica Leanne Barnaby, and Melissa Cassandra Avalo go to Tranquility City College (TCC). Ashley was taking classes to become a doctor. She was born on Dec. 14th, 1988. She had grown up from a good and bad youth. She's gone through tough times like everyone but she also went through many good times. One of her greatest losses, however, was the loss of her grandfather, who unexpectedly passed away when she was in 7th grade. He was going to pay for Ashley for college, but she had to get a scholarship to be able to go. She came from Victorville and moved to Tranquility. Ashley is a smart, fairly lively, occasionally funny, and sometimes odd person. She would try to cheer anybody up if they were down and mostly spoke the truth. One strange thing about her was that when she's mad, she doesn't like people bothering her or anything. But a few minutes later, she'll be laughing along with you and talking to you like nothing happened.

Her friend Gloria was taking criminal justice classes to become a criminalist. She was born on December 16th, 1989. Gloria grew up from a very tough childhood. She had gone through many things throughout her life. She had suffered from the death of a close family member, the separation of her parents, and many other problems. But she had managed to survive it all. She is a tough, very funny, sensitive, understanding, determined, and smart person. Some of her friends, especially Melissa, refer to her as a leader. She gets along well with some people but others give her many problems. She also had a temper and gets a bit hostile when angry. But she eventually gets over it. She also had to separate from Ashley and the others when she was in 7th grade because her family had run into money problems, forcing her to move to an apartment. They chose San Bernardino and she continued school from there. She had gotten a scholarship from her school in San Bernardino and moved from there to Tranquility to go to TCC.

Another one of Ashley's friends was Caitlin. Caitlin is a very energetic, funny, yet odd at times, and smart (but has her stupid moments) person. Caitlin was taking classes to become a marine biologist, a seal trainer, and an actress. She was born on September 2nd, 1990. Caitlin grew up from a fun and, from time to time, hard youth. She went through problems, like everyone, but she went through many fun times as well. She had good times as her church, going to trips, meeting people, and doing other things like that. Her family was able to afford the money for Caitlin's college education. She moved from Victorville to Tranquility. Her friends thought of her as very strange, but that's what made her such a fun person to be with. She could make you laugh, even if you were down. She somehow got some of her friends to be strange like her.

Jessica, another on of Ashley's friends, was taking classes to become a pediatrician. Jessica is now energetic at times (before she used to be shy until one of her best friends Briana Battaglia changed her), funny, lively, and also weird from time to time. Jessica was born in May 19th, 1990. Jessica's formative years weren't all that hard. In fact, she had more good times than bad. She struggled in the 9th grade, but eventually managed to complete ninth grade as well as the rest of her high school years. She got a scholarship and moved to Tranquility, only because it had a beach and it was the closest to Victorville. Jessica is a fun person to be with, but every now and then becomes annoying. She also has her stupid moments like Caitlin.

Last but not least, Melissa was taking art, English, and veterinary medicine classes to become an artist, an author, and a vet. She was born on July 6th, 1990. She had gone through hard times like Gloria, apart from the fact that her problems weren't as bad. But there was only one thing that had happened in her life that transformed her forever in her teenage years. To this day nobody knows what it is, except Gloria. Melissa had told her what happened and Gloria promised to never tell anyone. She had met good and bad people at school and had difficulty with ex-friends of hers. Middle school wasn't at that tough but high school was complicated. She lived through it to get a scholarship and move to Tranquility. Melissa is sensitive, smart (but has her stupid moments like Caitlin), determined, and energetic. When angry, she tends to get aggressive. She overreacts when it comes to her friends. She worries about them a lot, especially if they're far away, like when Gloria lived in San Bernardino.

The bell finally rang and everyone in the classroom got up. They walked out of the classroom, ready to go home after a long day. Ashley walked out and waited by Jessica's locker. After waiting for about 5 minutes, 22-year-old Jessica appeared and said, "Sorry I'm late. I was doing something and it was taking me quite a while. Now let's get going! We don't want to keep Gloria, Melissa, and Caitlin waiting any longer."

They both went outside to find 22-year-old Melissa's silver 2006 Lincoln Navigator in the school parking lot. She was one of the only ones out of all her friends to have a car. It was bought by her parents. On the sides of her car, it had a white serpentine dragon with blue electricity behind it. On the back window of the car, it had 2 dragon stickers. The other person that owned a car was Caitlin. Hers was a white, two doors, fast 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT. It was given to her by her mother. It had a big Roxy heart on the back window, tinted windows, and CD player.

Gloria, Jessica, and Ashley were trying to save money for a car. But they wouldn't be able to get one for another long while. 23-year-old Gloria and 22-year-old Caitlin were already with Melissa. She opened the driver side window and cried, "Hurry up, Ash! We don't have all day!"

"Alright, jeez! You should be more patient, Mel!" Ashley cried.

Ashley and Jessica got inside Melissa's car. She started the car and drove it out of the parking lot. When they stopped at the first stoplight, Gloria asked, "So what do you want to do today?"

"How about…we go to the movie theater?" Caitlin proposed.

"Ok, but which movie should we see?" Ashley asked.

"How about…'The Pink Panther'?" Melissa suggested. "My treat."

"Ok," Ashley and the others agreed.

"Then let me go home and get my wallet," Melissa said.

Melissa drove to her house and quickly got some money for the movie. She then drove to the theater and they all saw "The Pink Panther". But little did they know that something evil was slowly spreading throughout Tranquility and that they would be in the first war of their lives.


	3. Monster Transformation

Chapter 2: Monster Transformation

"That movie was ok," Gloria commented as she and the others left the theater.

"Yeah," the others agreed.

"Hey, you guys wanna come to my place?" Melissa asked.

Everyone nodded. She drove them to her house and led them to an underground cave in the backyard. The entrance of the cave was camouflaged with the surroundings, so it would be hard for anyone to find it. It also had state-of-the-art security systems installed for the stuff inside the cave would be far too dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. Lights went on as they continued walking. They entered a large room with areas filled with weapons and other advanced machinery that nobody knew about. Then Melissa stood in the middle of the room and transformed from a female adult with brown eyes, tan skin, and dark brown hair that looked black to a gleaming silver dragon with golden claws, large wings, a skinny but muscled body, and a tail with 4 large spikes near the end, including tiny silver blades on the top and sides. She had frills that went halfway down her neck and a deep chest. She stretched her wings to its full length and yawned, showing all of her razor sharp teeth. "It's good to be back to my original form," she commented.

Dragons are a little different from what people hear from books, movies, and other sources. Dragons have scales harder than nearly 100 layers of steel. The scales of their underbellies are stronger than what is said in information sources. Many dragons have spikes or horns on their bodies. They can also live for nearly 10,000 years, possibly more. All dragons have breath weapons, which come from a special gland possessed only by true or full dragons (not in half dragons like draconians) inside the chest area called the draconis fundamentum. It ranges from a cone or ball of acid to a cone, ball, or stream of fire. Most breath weapons are elements but some can be something like a beam of light. Some dragons have a 2nd breath weapon like paralyzing gas, a cloud of poisonous chlorine gas, and a cone of glowing shards (sharp dagger-like crystals). Some dragons, although not many, collect precious gems and rare treasures to place inside their lair. There are more than 50 types of dragons, all of them capable of destruction. Several are very gentle but others are very hostile or evil.

Ashley also transformed from a female adult with light skin, dark brown or black hair, and dark brown eyes to a large white humanoid bat with large wings (attached to her arms), sharp claws, a bushy mane(males had bushier manes),nose just like a regular vampire bat, anddark brown eyes that always made Ashley look angry."It feels much more relaxing in a way. Now I have things to do. Are you coming G?" she asked.

"I guess so," Gloria replied.

She changed from a female adult like the others with dark brown hair, matching eyes, and tan skin to a white humanoid bat like Ashley, but the only difference was that her eyes were icy blue. "Let's go," she said.

Vampires are also different from what is said in different sources. Vampires aren't humans with long fangs who sleep in coffins, avoid the sunlight, and climb up a wall with their claws. Vampires are large humanoid bats, blacks being males and whites being females. They can go out into the sunlight and don't have to sleep in a coffin. They also don't exactly die the way everyone believes. They can die from a stake through the heart, but a knife and bullet could also kill them. They can die like any human, except from natural causes, of course. Vampires can also fly at very high speeds. But like all vampires, they must drink blood to survive. Vampires also have special abilities like the ability to talk to the dead or even transform into an undead being like a skeleton warrior. They can become mist or become any killer of the night like a wolf. A very rare ability is psychic powers. Very few vampires are blessed with psychic powers. Ashley and Gloria were lucky enough to get it. Vampires can also gain the power to summon the undead, but they have to be skilled in that power. Hundreds of vampires die just about every year because they weren't skilled enough to control the undead. Gloria and Ashley have already mastered that skill.

Ashley and Gloria flew out of the cave to go and do some of their own things. "I think it's time for my daily training," Caitlin announced.

She snapped her fingers and changed but not like Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa. She was a female adult with brown hair but not too dark, matching eyes, and light skin. The only thing that changed was her clothes and accent. She now wore a blue shirt with a black vest and a red pants with a red bandana. Her accent changed into that of a pirate. "So…here you go," Jessica said, giving Caitlin her favorite sword.

"Aye, matey! I thank you," Caitlin said.

Pirates aren't all that different from what people believe. They do steal (Caitlin doesn't steal!) and they do kill when it come to treasure (Caitlin doesn't kill either, unless provoked to save her own life, a friend's, or a family member's). Pirates favor swords but also use pistols. Pirates will sometimes name their sword after a deceased powerful pirate or ancestor, as Caitlin has done, in the belief that they will wield their power. Some pirates, like Caitlin, are skilled blade masters. Blade masters are quite rare in pirate society, but they do exist. These great blade wielding pirates would have enemies tremble under their might, for they were extremely dangerous men (sometimes women as well). They rarely showed mercy for their enemies. Not much has changed from what is said about pirates.

She took her favorite sword and held it near her face. It shined in the light as she held it in a upright position. Her favorite sword had an icy blue blade and a brown handle. The sword signified her earth and ice powers and because it was her first one, she named it Zarok, after her ancient ancestor, who was also blade master. "Ok, I think it's my turn," Jessica said.

She changed like Caitlin. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She was a female with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin. Now she wore a black legless, long-sleeve shirt and a purple cape that had a hood. She had something somewhat like a utility belt that contained some potions and a small sword that had a silver blade and a blue handle, which signified her water and wind powers. "I should practice doing new spells," she said. "What are you going to do Mel?"

Witches aren't the ugly, big-nosed, weird, freaky, black cat loving, mean women people talk about. Some are mean and some are nice. Some can be normal people and some can be just plain out insane. Witches are, to some extent, normal people blessed with very powerful spells. Witches do not ride a broom and fly around on it. They can levitate but can't exactly fly like freaks without the help of spells. Some don't even like cats, let alone black ones. Also, witches don't wear pointy black hats with long black clothing. Good witches will sometimes wear spiritual things while evil witches will sometimes wear something like satanic things. The spells are in a different language known only as the Kudorock language, named after the creator, or more like creators. The Kudorock were an ancient band of spell casting people that were kind of like the witches today. They were a mixture of good and evil people but were not together. Since then, witches have used this language to cast spells.

"Well I could…meditate," Melissa replied.

"Meditate? So you're going to become a meditating dragon?" Caitlin laughed.

"Well first I'll turn back to normal. I wouldn't want to look like a freak now, would I? And I need to meditate to be able to control my mutation form. Don't you remember what happened the last time?" Melissa asked.

"Aye! I remember that day. You lost control of your form," Caitlin remembered.

"It's like…Raven from Teen Titans," Melissa explained. "I couldn't think of anything better. Anyways, she needs to meditate to control her powers. I have to meditate to control that form. If I transform into that thing and if I still don't have control of it, I can kill you guys and lots of other people."

She changed back and sat down on the ground. She got into meditating position and was silent. "Well, I should get started," Jessica said.

"And so should I," Caitlin said.

Caitlin went to her training area while Jessica went to a specific area to test new spells and potions. Melissa stayed where she was and remained silent. Everyone did what they were doing and also waited Gloria and Ashley to return.

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I know not too much has happened but I'm hoping things get better in the future chapters 


	4. First Murder, First Enemy

Chapter 3: First Murder, First Enemy

"Alrighty then!" Ashley said as she exited the car. "Thanks for the ride Mel! I'll see you…some other time! Bye!"

"Bye!" Gloria, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa said in unison.

They drove away while Ashley went home after a long day. As soon as she went inside, she got dressed into her pajamas and went to her room. As she was getting into bed, a big black spider crawled out and slowly crept up the wall. "AHHHHH!" Ashley screamed as she was backing away. "AHH! Oh my God!"

She continued to scream her head off while backing away. Obviously Ashley had a bad case of arachnophobia, which, everyone should know, is the fear of spiders. When arachnophobia took over, she would go completely nuts. She suddenly tripped on her own foot and hit her head on the wall. She got up, holding her head with her hand, by pulling herself up with the window ledge. But when she got up, she saw something climbing up the wall of the house across the street. "What the hell?" she cursed.

Completely forgetting about the spider, she continued to watch the thing climb up to a lit room. She had a very bad feeling about this. "I think I'll go check it out," Ashley said. Then she thought to herself, _I can't believe I'm doing this._

She did not bother to change. She quickly got her keys, exited her home, and hid behind a tree on her front yard. She saw the thing break the glass and go in as the lights turned off. Ashley went closer but faster and hid behind another tree. She suddenly heard a scream. A minute or two later, the thing came back outside. Ashley hid behind the tree in the darkness.

The thing became more visible as it ambled closer to the tree Ashley was hiding behind. She then realized that the thing was a monster but she couldn't see what it was. The monster was right by the tree and its head was right by her own. Ashley could smell its stinking hot breath when its head was by her head. It smelled of dried blood and rotten meat. Though the monster couldn't see her, it could still smell her.

Since Ashley was a vampire, she could hide extremely well in darkness (an ability some vampires have), even if she was a white vampire. She would turn midnight black in the blink of an eye. That's why, or at least one of the reasons why, she was master of darkness, as well as Gloria. She held her breath until it finally left after a number of seconds. She sighed and took in a deep breath of fresh air. She then headed towards the house.

When she opened the door, she heard something beeping. _What's that? _she asked herself. _Where's that beeping coming from?_

She decided to investigate. She could hear the beeping sound getting louder as she got closer to the kitchen. Then she discovered what was beeping. It was coming from the owner's alarm! "Oh crap!" Ashley yelled.

She then realized something. _I need a frickin' password and obviously I don't know it. It might cost them, but my only option is to break it._

All of a sudden she grabbed the alarm and tore it off the wall. The beeping stopped and silence settled. Well, at least for a _human_. But since Ashley was a vampire, even in a disguise as a regular human, she could still use her keen sense of hearing. And she could hear panicked breathing. The breathing was coming from a closet in the family room. She turned on the light and opened the closet to find a startled young girl backing away. "It's ok," Ashley soothed. "I won't hurt you."

The young girl got closer to her. Then Ashley asked the young girl where her mother is. "Upstairs," the girl replied. "But you can't go. Something's up there."

"Then I'm going to find out what," Ashley said in a determined voice. "You stay here. If I don't come back, then……go run to someone else's house and tell them what happened ok?"

The little girl nodded in reply. Seeing the young girl's frightened face told Ashley that whatever scared this girl shitless was probably the one who broke into the house earlier. Ashley headed towards the stairs and went up but slowly. When she reached the top, she went to the room on her left. She opened the door slowly and looked inside the room. _Nothing. Ok, _she thought. _I have to calm down._

She took in a deep breath and then exhaled. She went to the next room right next to it, but before she even reached out to twist the doorknob, she smelled a familiar scent. She could smell human blood. It was coming from a room behind of her. She opened the door and checked inside. And to her horror, she found a female adult literally torn up to shreds and a large pool of blood. "Ew," she said with a disgusted face.

Then she saw huge footprints, perhaps 5 feet in length. The footprints were definitely not human, obviously. They were monster-like. It had 3 toes and it was clear that it had claws. _It looks like Mel's footprints, _she thought.

The monster footprints looked like the footprints of Melissa when she was a dragon. But Ashley knew Melissa wouldn't do that. Though she had a serious temper problem especially when she became her normal draconic self, she wouldn't kill anybody _unless_ she hated a specific person or if someone pissed her off a lot and she couldn't take it anymore.

The footprints got Ashley thinking. Since the footprints were similar in shape to Melissa's footprints, it was probable that the monster was a dragon or at least half dragon. But it didn't make any sense. How could the monster be a half dragon or even a full dragon if she didn't see any wings? Assuming it was a dragon, its wings would've been sticking out, but there were no wings. And if it wasn't a dragon at all, then what could it had been and why did it attack this house? Surely the monster could've killed the family next door or killed a long time ago. Why now? Ashley's mind started to fill up with questions, making her all the more confused. She didn't know why this had happened but she wasn't going to be able to solve it on her own. She would have to tell the others about what had happened so they could help her. Whatever this was needed to be stopped and Ashley felt the authorities wouldn't be able to stop it on their own.

Ashley cleared her mind of any questions and concentrated on the young girl's dead mother. She approached the torn up body, but cautiously. For all she knew, the monster could've planted a parasite in the body. She and her friends, besides having mastered skills, were experts on one thing. She and Gloria were death experts, which means that they could determine how someone died just by look at them or studying them. But sometimes Ashley regretted having this ability. Melissa was a monster expert, Jessica was a spell expert, and Caitlin was a weapons master, which means that she knew every weapon, from blade to guns, and she could identify a weapon used in any kind of killing.

She looked at the dead person carefully. She didn't like the idea of looking at a torn up dead human girl, but hey, whoever said solving a murder mystery wouldn't be bloody?

Then she thought of something. _First the girl's neck was broken and then the monster tore her up like a piece of paper, almost beyond recognition. Wow! This monster had some strong jaws, but I'll have to talk to Mel tomorrow. We have to identify this beast and fast. Only God knows where it'll strike next. _

She got up, walked out of the room, and called 911. She stayed with the girl until the police arrived. Once there, she left the house and returned home. Then she nestled into bed and finally got some sleep.


	5. Beginning of Hell

Chapter 4: Beginning of Hell

"Are you serious?" Caitlin asked the next morning.

"Yes! I am," Ashley replied.

Ashley was telling her friends about what happened the night before. They were getting ready to go across the street. "So now we have to find out who or what did this," Ashley explained. "That's where you come in Melissa."

"Ok. Whatever," Melissa replied, not really sounding interested, even if it did deal with a girl being killed.

They reached the house and went up to the officer in the front of the house. "You can't go in," the officer said.

"We need to do something quick," Gloria answered.

"We cannot let anybody in. Go home, young ladies," the officer said. "Besides, you are not part of the police."

Melissa was already ticked off. She woke up very early and couldn't go back to sleep, hence the reason she was cranky. "Look, we just need to figure out something," she said. "We need to figure out who the killer was, ok!"

"We have the FBI and CSI to do that," the officer said.

Then suddenly a tall man appeared. "Let them in officer," he said. "They might be able to solve this. I don't care if they're police or not. I'm sorry about this, girls. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Allen and I was the husband of Samantha, the one who was murdered. If you can help us solve this case, please do."

The officer sighed and let them in. They went to the room and asked everyone to leave it for a sec. Once it was empty, Melissa put down her large book of monsters, which contained every monster known on Earth, and knelt beside the pair of footprints Ashley had mentioned. She saw something by them, covered in a white blanket but stained with blood. "What's that?" she asked.

"I don't think you want to know," Ashley said.

"Just let me see the damn thing," Melissa snapped. "If I am to figure out which monster killed this girl, then I need to see the goddamn evidence."

"Ok, ok," Ashley surrendered.

Ashley decided to do what she said. She nor the others wanted to get her angry. They always tried to stay out of her way when angry. And in return, she would try to stay out of their way when any of them were angry. Ashley lifted the blanket. "Holy—" Melissa said.

"No cussing, Mel," Jessica interrupted grimly.

Melissa sighed. Her friends were trying to get her out of the habit of cussing. She turned her attention back to the footprints. She looked at the footprints very carefully. "Oh crap! It can't be!" she yelled.

She opened her book and instantly went to the H's. She took one last look at the footprints before returning to whatever she was looking for. "You guys, I have very bad news," she announced.

"What is it?" Jessica asked.

"The monster that killed this woman was…" she responded, "a hellhound."

* * *

Melissa drove everyone to her house quickly. She refused to answer any questions about the monster called a hellhound. Not until they reached her house. After finally reaching her house and after nearly being killed and very close to getting in trouble by the TPD (Tranquility Police Department), they went to her room. "Now, can you tell us what the hell a hellhound is?" Ashley demanded.

"I expected you to know," Melissa replied with her back turned on everyone else. She was taking out her book and opening it again.

"Hey you're the monster expert," Ashley said.

"Yeah but it's not that hard to figure out. Caitlin could figure out what the hell a hellhound is," Melissa continued. "It's just a dog-like monster from Hell, hence the reason they're called hellhounds. Duh…They're servants to the Lord of Hell, known in our time as the Devil. 10,000 years ago, a dog was born, but it was…different. It was more blackish gray. It had a long tail, its hair looked like long snake tails, its eyes were lime green, its black claws were curved like a hook, and on its back, or more like down its spine, it had real living scales that overlapped each other. It was more reptile rather than mammal for it had no fur. It wasn't like _anything_ that existed. It was left to survive on its own. Then another monster was born exactly the same. They both had young and they started to overrun the world. They killed everything in their path.

"They mostly burned everything. On their neck, they also had 'hair' like the long snake tail-like 'hair' they had. Anyway, those 'scale hairs' on the neck were the colors of fire: red, orange, and yellow. So everything it touched burst into flames. Then something stopped them. They were water monsters called serpentine mystics. A serpentine mystic is a sapphire serpent with a head of a snake rather than a head of a dragon. They had shiny sapphire scales with light purplish blue stripes. They had yellow eyes and snake fangs, but they were not venomous. They had powerful muscles and real membrane wings (wings like the ones of bats and dragons). They had blue swords that signified their water powers and they had shields with a picture of a snake coiled up in a circle. There was one serpentine mystic who was sent from the heavens and she was the leader of the mystics. And her name was Jessica. She got an army of serpentine mystics and went against the hellhounds. There were thousands of hellhounds by the time Jessica was ready. That's when the ancient war of the serpentine mystic and the hellhounds began. The war was known as War of Water and Fire.

"The war continued for 5 years. Finally, when the war ended, Jessica banished the remaining hellhounds to Hell. They were condemned to Hell for an eternity. While they were trapped, they became extremely loyal to the Devil. Then He gave them firepower, but more powerful than before. After thousands of years of exile, they've been released by someone. If someone doesn't stop them, then—then we'll die and Earth will be overrun once again."

Everyone was speechless. Then Jessica broke the silence. "So…you mean I'm named after an important monster?" she asked.

"Not only important, but also legendary," Melissa replied. "You should be honored. You see, the legendary Jessica was spells master just like you, hence the reason why those serpents were called serpentine mystics."

"I _am_ honored," Jessica said.

"But exactly who would release them and how?" Gloria asked.

"It says here," Melissa continued, looking at her book, "that only people with evil in their heart and spirit have the power to release them by saying this spell…ligkr uno Devl polrg mi sestren uno loulseltrs te flessacre es gotro tris uno gitder flimas itu hotier, which means 'With the Devil's power, I release the hellhounds to kill all good with the fiery flames of Hell.' So whoever did it somehow found out about this spell or already knew it."

"Well, what can we do?" Ashley asked. "They could have eggs by now."

"I know where they used to lay eggs when they used to live. They are most likely using that spot now," Melissa said.

"Where is it?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, it's in…Oregon," Melissa answered.

"Say what!" Gloria roared.

"Where in Oregon?" Ashley shouted.

"It's in Coos Bay," Melissa replied. "It's in an underwater cave. One of us will have to go underwater."

"Why only one of us?" Jessica asked.

"It's not going to take an army to destroy some frickin' eggs," Melissa said, "even if it's a lot."

"How the hell are we supposed to get over there? Say 'abrakadabra?'" Ashley said. "We're not rich, ya know."

'C'mon guys use your brains and think for a sec," Gloria said. "We don't need technology to get somewhere. We can just fly there."

"How long will it take?" Caitlin asked.

"I'm not sure," Melissa replied. "But we'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Are you guys ready?" Caitlin asked.

Ashley and the others nodded. Melissa, Gloria, and Ashley changed into their monster forms. Then Caitlin and Jessica climbed onto Melissa's back. "Hey Mel, before we go, why do Gloria and I have to transform when we can just ride you?" Ashley asked.

"I've already been through this," Melissa explained. "You two will be in front of me and warn me of anything heading our way. So we'll be prepared rather than unprepared if I were to do it alone. Got it?"

"Yeah," Ashley said.

Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa spread their wings and took off. They all flew to Coos Bay as fast as they could, but not fast enough to lose energy at an extremely fast rate. Yesterday afternoon, someone else got killed and the same footprints were found. They were ready to face their very first real threat. But now they needed to think of a plan before their attack.


	6. Sacrifice For First Victory

Chapter 5: Sacrifice for First Victory

"Yo dudes, we here!" Melissa announced.

Everyone woke up and got off her back. They all stretched after a long trip. Gloria and Ashley had transformed back into themselves once they became tired. They rested on Melissa's back for the rest of the trip. Gloria yawned and asked, "What happened?"

"Well, you guys fell asleep on my back for one," Melissa replied.

"You were able to continue flying with all of us on your back _and_ without any sleep?" Jessica asked.

"Hey I'm a big silver dragon and because of that, I can go on for God knows how long without sleep," Melissa replied. "I can fly for hours without rest."

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin asked.

"Dude…we're here already," Melissa reminded, raising a brow

"How about we look at a flash back?" Gloria asked. She deepened her voice and said slowly, "Yo dude, we're here!" like in movies where there's a flash back. She just wanted to do it.

"Oh yeah huh," Caitlin said.

"How are we all going underwater?" Ashley asked. "We don't all have the metamorphosis ability."

"I have an idea," Jessica said. "I'll go the way I am, but I'll give Mel and myself the ability to breath underwater. Unfortunately for you guys, you'll have to ride in Mel's mouth."

"WHAT!" Caitlin, Ashley, and Gloria yelled at the same time.

"I have to save all my power for this battle," Jessica said.

"Wait! Melissa, you said just one of us goes in. So why are we all going?" Ashley asked.

"Melissa and I discussed this plan the night before," Gloria said. "I thought it would be better for all of us to go. You never know when something can go wrong."

"And you were planning on telling us this…when?" Ashley asked.

"When we made it here, but I forgot to tell you about our change of plans," Gloria smiled.

"Do we have to ride in Mel's mouth?" Ashley demanded.

"Hey, unless you've got a better idea, that's what you've got to do," Jessica said.

"If I have to do it, then I will, but I won't like it," Melissa said. "This isn't the first time I've done this."

"Oh wait a minute," Caitlin said. "Since I can control earth, I can make a tunnel that leads to this cave!"

"Smart," Ashley commented.

"Fine by me," Melissa said.

"Ok, let's get going," Jessica said.

"Where is the cave?" Caitlin asked.

"It is right underneath me," Melissa replied.

Jessica and Melissa dived into the water while Caitlin walked to the area where Melissa was standing and said a spell that was in the Kudorock language. The ground beneath them started sinking and it became more faster as they went farther. Within two minutes, they reached their destination. "It's about time you get here," Jessica said.

"So…what do we do?" Ashley asked.

She could see Melissa looking at something with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. She turned her attention to what Melissa was looking at and her eyes became wide as well. She saw something like a goldmine and so did everyone else. There were thousands, maybe even millions, of small yellow eggs. "My God," Gloria gasped.

"This is it," Melissa said. "This is where they laid their eggs long ago. And just like I thought, they're using it again."

"How many eggs do they lay?" Caitlin asked.

"Just by the look of this, it looks like they lay a lot within 3 days," Jessica replied.

"Wait a minute. If they laid eggs then…shouldn't there be hellhounds _protecting_ the eggs?" Caitlin asked uneasily.

A deep growl answered her question. Suddenly monstrous things appeared. They growled again and showed their teeth. "What the?" Caitlin said.

"You guys, hide behind that rock!" Melissa ordered. "They are the hellhounds!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Gloria yelled.

"How the hell is that supposed to help us?" Ashley asked. "We can fight ourselves."

"Just go there, goddamn it!" Melissa snarled.

The hellhounds got closer and more started to appear. "Alright you ugly bastards, it's time to see my other self!" Melissa exclaimed.

Ashley, Gloria. Caitlin and Jessica watched from behind the rock in awe as Melissa changed into her more dangerous form. An orb formed around her and in a few seconds, the orb burst. She now had half the body of a raptor, two mechanical arms, six wings, half the body of a dragon, and blades on her tail, her side, the sides of her mouth, and on her upper and lower jaws. "Can she control it?" Jessica asked.

"Let's hope to God she can," Caitlin replied.

Melissa roared and ran towards the hellhounds. The hellhounds ran and attacked. Melissa stopped and swung her tail. The blades on her tail slashed some of the hellhounds. It even sliced some of them in half. Fiery blood splattered everywhere, burning everything it touched. One hellhound jumped onto Melissa's back and started slashing her. She roared in pain and tried to get it off her. She slammed into the cave walls, hoping it could get the monster off. The hellhound dug its claws even deeper to stay on.

Melissa roared even more loudly but did not continue to slam into the cave walls. She feared that if she continued, she could knock down the cave and kill the others. She then used her tail to try and grab the monster. The blades pierced the hellhound's scaly skin. She threw it across the cave, once again shaking the entire cave. The hellhounds saw what she did to their comrade and became very angry. They started attacking like crazy. Another hellhound came up and bit one of her arms. More started to bite and slash her. Melissa kept grabbing them and throwing them across the cave. Though they were killed, more and more started showing up as more and more started dying. She kept slashing and biting back, even when she knew the fighting was sapping the life out of her. She was bleeding to death but continued fighting nevertheless. Her friends could only watch as she risked her life to protect them. They could see her become weak and at the same time, could see more come as more died. "Where are they all coming from!" Jessica demanded.

"There!" Gloria yelled, pointing to the huge clutch of eggs. Two new hellhounds would be born and grow within a few seconds.

"For every hellhound that dies, two new ones are born. They grow into adults in about 5 seconds," Caitlin said.

"We have to do something now or she'll die!" Jessica yelled.

"There's too many of them. How are we supposed to defeat them?" Ashley asked.

Jessica got up and stood a few feet away from their hiding place. She yelled a spell in the Kudorock language and suddenly started to glow a blue glow. Then the blue glow exploded and it blasted all the hellhounds and their eggs. The hellhounds and their eggs started to burn into ash. The explosion's powerful winds furiously blew ash, dirt, and small rocks inside the cave. Ashley, Gloria, and Caitlin took cover behind the rock, putting their hands on top of their head and crouching down. Jessica ceased her attack and fainted.

* * *

"Jessica…up…wake…please…" someone pleaded.

Jessica could hear a faint voice. She couldn't hear everything the person said, but could make out some of it. Her eyesight was blurry when she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times before her eyesight became normal. "Thank the Lord!" Caitlin cried.

"What happened?" Jessica asked.

"You saved all of us," Gloria replied.

"You depleted your energy drastically and almost killed yourself," Ashley answered.

"Where's Melissa?" Jessica asked.

"She's fine, thanks to you," Caitlin replied. "She's out for now, but she'll wake up soon."

"Are the hellhounds gone?" Jessica asked.

"Yes," Ashley replied. "But we'll have to stay here for the night."

Jessica, Ashley, Gloria, and Caitlin sat by Melissa. She was lying on her side with her eyes closed. They all huddled together to stay warm and slept inside the cave. A small and strange lizard rested on a small rock by them. Little did they know that the lizard was actually a robot and was sending the images to someone far away from the cave.

* * *

Far away on an island, someone was watching a large screen in his fortress while eating a snack. The screen showed Melissa, Caitlin, Jessica, Gloria, and Ashley resting in a cave. He was watching them by using a robotic lizard. "Enjoy your peace now," he said. "I'll be back! BWAHAHAHA…yugh, yugh!"

He was choking on a piece of food. He continued to choke and fell off his chair. When he was back to normal, he cried, "Count on it!"


	7. Gathering of Lovers

Chapter 6: Gathering of Lovers

**A/N:** This chapter might be a bit odd and not too much happens in this one. Again, read and review.

* * *

1 week later…

"What's up Orlando?" Gloria greeted.

"What's up G?" Orlando Bloom smiled.

Gloria, Orlando, and Ashley were in the park near Ashley's house. Orlando was Ashley's boyfriend. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a white stripped shirt and blue pants. He was a famous movie star. "Hey what's up G, Orlando, and Ash?" Melissa greeted.

"Mel, who's that?" Ashley asked politely.

"You guys, this is my boyfriend, Duke Devlin," Melissa replied.

"It's about time we meet you," Gloria said. "I'm her friend Gloria."

"And this is Ashley and her boyfriend, Orlando Bloom." Melissa held her hand out towards Orlando and Ashley.

Duke only said "Hi" to everyone except Orlando. He had green eyes; black hair tied up in a ponytail, and was wearing a black shirt with a red vest and black pants. He also wore a red headband with black triangles. He was the owner of a shop called, "Gaming Universe". He was also the creator of the new popular game Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeon Dice Monsters.

"What's up OB?" Duke said.

"Hey Duke!' Orlando said.

"You guys know each other?" Gloria asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you that," Melissa replied.

Then a sleek black Lexus stopped by Ashley, Duke, Melissa, Orlando, and Gloria. Someone stepped out of the car. He had blonde hair that was brushed back with the help of gel, sort of grayish eyes, and was wearing a dark red shirt with a black leather jacket along with black pants. "You guys, this is James Marsters a.k.a. Spike," Gloria said.

"Hi Spike," Ashley and Melissa said in unison.

"Hello girls," James said.

"These are Mel and Ash's boyfriends, Duke and Orlando," Gloria introduced.

James shook hands with Duke and Orlando. James was the star of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and has also starred in a few movies. "Where's Cait and Jess?" Ashley asked.

"We're here!" Caitlin and Jessica yelled.

A red PT cruiser stopped by them. Caitlin, Jessica, and two guys got out of the vehicle. "What is up, people?" Caitlin asked.

"Hi," Duke said with a little wave of his hand.

"Hi! I don't know who you are, but I'm Caitlin," Caitlin said. "And this is Johnny Depp a.k.a. Jack Sparrow."

"Hi," Johnny said.

"Hey Johnny," Orlando said.

They greeted each other with their own handshake. Johnny did the same with Duke. "Oh yeah. I forgot that you know him too," Melissa said.

Johnny had long black hair, brown eyes, was starting to grow a mustache again, and was wearing a white shirt with blue pants. He was also famous movie star. "Hey you're not the only one here with a boyfriend," Jessica said.

"So? Nah, I'm kidding," Ashley joked.

"Anyway, this is Leon, people. Leon Kennedy, meet G, Mel, and Ash along with their boyfriends. You've already met Caitlin and Johnny," Jessica said.

Leon Scott Kennedy didn't really say anything except "Hello." He had short light brown hair split down the middle, blue eyes, and was wearing a black shirt with dark blue pants. He also wore black fingerless gloves. He was actually a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) leader and sniper expert. "So, what are we planning to do now that we've met each other?" Jessica asked.

"Well, Duke and I have plans of our own," Melissa answered. "You guys are supposed to be hanging out with each other and do some other things. Anyway, I'll talk to you dudes later. Nice meeting you Leon, Jack, Spike, and Orlando. Bye!"

Duke and Melissa went inside his blue 2010 Chevy Suburban. He started the car and drove out the park's parkway. Their friends waved good-bye to them. They waved back and Duke began to drive to the mall.


	8. Arachnid Mall

Chapter 7: Arachnid Mall

"So where do you wanna go now?" Duke asked.

"How about your shop 'Gaming Universe'? Then we can go home," Melissa suggested.

"Ok," Duke smiled.

They went to Duke's shop "Gaming Universe," which sold Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Digimon, Lord of the Rings, baseball, football, basketball, and lots of other card brands. It also contained his game, Dungeon Dice Monsters, and other things like action figures, collectibles, and more. They brought what they wanted and left. "Thanks for a wonderful afternoon Duke," Melissa said.

"No prob," Duke grinned.

Melissa smiled in reply. She continued walking with Duke when she spotted something on the wall of the mall outside. She kept staring at it as it moved. "Mel, are you ok?" Duke asked. "And what are you staring at?"

"Huh? Oh nothing," Melissa answered.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied.

When they both reached Duke's car, Melissa lied, "Hey Duke, I need to go back for a sec. I uh….forgot to buy something and I really need it. So just wait for me here 'kay?"

"No prob," Duke said.

Melissa didn't walk back. She ran back! She ran inside the mall again, but tried getting her breathing normal so she could look calm. But while resting, she saw the monster on the ceiling. It was camouflaged, but only she could see it, obviously. She started acting normal, but followed the monster. It started heading towards a clothes store called Kohls.

Melissa started going faster. The monster remained on the ceiling but advanced towards the girls' fitting room. _Why in God's name would a monster go into a fitting room?_ she questioned. _Let alone a girl's fitting room. _The monster stopped on the ceiling above a stall inside the fitting room. Melissa got closer and could see a girl done dressing into her original clothes. She was now applying her make-up. The monster was now on the wall right above the unsuspecting girl. Melissa was about to burst in to warn her but she hesitated. She decided to try another way to warn her.

She knocked on the door and tried to whisper to her. "Hey girl, you need to hurry up because you've been hogging up the room." It may have not been much but she wasn't much of a thinker in situations like this.

"How about you wait!" the girl demanded.

_Damn, what a bitch_, Melissa thought to herself. "Look, you're putting on goddamn make-up. Go to the damn bathroom for that! Other people want to dress!"

"Look bitch, wait or I'll kick your ass!" the girl exclaimed.

_Screw you then asshole! _Melissa cursed.

Melissa literally just stood there, watching, waiting for the monster to kill the girl. When other people insulted her (or her friends) or made her angry, they were in trouble. She didn't even care about helping the person. Some might consider her a heartless person, but she didn't care. If people pissed her off, she made sure they pay. That was her way.

The monster approached silently and slowly towards the girl. The monster finally grabbed the girl's head with 2 large fangs, sinking them into her head. It brought her closer to its own head by using its two hands. Melissa could see the dead girl's mouth open in a silent scream. Blood oozed and squirted from the fatal wound. Still camouflaged, the monster brought the girl closer and closer. Although it was a bit difficult to see it clearly, Melissa managed to see its pointy teeth when it opened its mouth. Then it shut its jaws on the girl's neck. The headless carcass fell to the ground once it let go and rolled near Melissa's feet. "Holy sh—" Melissa was about to say. "I mean…holy uh…crap! There we go!"

She had no idea that the monster was right above her. She then felt its hot breath and looked up. The monster roared in her face and blood, flesh, and bone fell on her face. "Two words, dude," Melissa said, covering her nose and wiping her face clean of the remains of the head. "Breath mint."

She quickly grabbed the monster's pincer fangs and threw it to the ground (still has the strength of a dragon, even in human form), smashing the wooden doors of the stall. She ran out of the fitting room as the monster struggled to get up. Melissa looked back to see the monster and stopped when she saw what it was. The monster was no longer cloaked. It was black, had purple flame-like markings on the top of its large abdomen, had large pincers the size of a door with fangs at the very end, had eight legs, eight black eyes, the front of its body was in an upright position, and it had two arms with three sharp claws. _No way! It's an arachnoid! _she thought.

The arachnoid roared loudly. Melissa could see people running away in panic and some were so terrified, they just _stood_ there. The arachnoid started getting closer to her. She started backing away very slowly. _I may destroy some of the store but it's either that or the lives of people. _

She suddenly ran as fast as she could to the girls' bathroom. The arachnoid followed her into the bathroom. But the door ripped off and Melissa appeared, but in her dragon form. The arachnoid stepped back as she got out of the destroyed bathroom. The arachnoid started to charge at Melissa, but she smacked it with the back of her paw. The arachnoid hit the wall really hard. The wall broke and it landed on the floor outside the store and into the mall. Melissa roared and tore through the wall. She walked on her two hind legs, stood tall, and roared again. People started running away. "It's time to fight!" declared Melissa.

* * *

Outside, Duke was nodding his head, falling asleep, while he continued to wait for Melissa. But he could hear something that instantly woke him up. He could see in his rear view window people running and screaming, driving away in their cars. He hastily got out of the car and looked at the mall. What he saw worried him. A huge crowd of people ran from the mall, screaming and yelling. "Oh no," he murmured to himself.

He quickly ran towards the mall. He went inside and to his horror saw a silver dragon fighting a spider-like monster. "My God!" he yelled.

* * *

Melissa stopped when she heard someone very familiar yell, "My God!" even through all the screaming. She whipped her head to the side to find Duke gazing at her in awe and fear. _Goddamn it! _she thought._ He's in a lot of danger and I have to help him. But I can't let him know about my secret! I have to get him to safety and get out NOW! But this damn thing won't leave me alone and if I don't hurry, this city will bring police or SWAT, maybe even the military!_

She turned her attention back to the arachnoid. But before she could do anything, she was hit with acid. Melissa groaned and clenched her teeth. She looked at her side and saw burnt flesh along with her own ribs, but only two or three were sticking out and burned. The arachnoid then sprayed web from its big abdomen at her, entangling her with its sticky string. She tried hard to break free but it was too sticky and there was too much. The arachnoid spat acid again, but luckily it missed. Melissa tore and bit at the sticky web, but it was sticking to her all over the place. She breathed fire and burned the web to ashes and before the arachnoid could attack again, the dragon spat a big fireball of intense flames. It struck the arachnoid, burning it alive. The spider's shrill cry of pain hurt Melissa's ears and even shattered anything that was glass around it. Everyone's screams seemed to kind of drown out its cry. Melissa then whipped the spider as it tried to extinguish the flames. Her tail smacked the spider hard; its burning body flew and landed on the ground far away from her. The spider was now lifeless on the ground, its entire body sprawled on the smooth yet burned floor. She quickly ran back into the store and returned to normal in a secure area.

She ran outside the store and saw Duke. He saw her and ran to her. They embraced each other and Duke said, "Thank God, you're ok!"

"C'mon Duke, let's get going before the cops get here," Melissa suggested.

"What the hell were you doing here while those monsters were here?" Duke demanded, sounding worried.

Melissa looked into Duke's green eyes and answered, "I was doing something and the monsters just appeared. I was terrified so I hid from them, hoping that they wouldn't find me. Sorry for worrying you."

She buried her face into his chest and heard the rumbling of his voice as he said, "Well, don't do it again."

Melissa and Duke went home after leaving the mall. Once Melissa arrived home, she immediately called her friends Gloria, Caitlin, and Jessica to tell them about her little incident. She decided to not tell Ashley yet because of her arachnophobia. But this was just the beginning of the arachnoids for them.


	9. History of the Arachnoid

Chapter 8: History of the Arachnoid

"How come you didn't want Ash to come?" Caitlin asked.

"You know how she is when it comes to spiders," Melissa replied. She started imitating Ashley in a rather high-pitched voice. "Ah! Melissa or Gloria, kill that spider! Oh my God, it's a spider! AHH!" She returned her voice to normal. "That's all she ever does when she sees a frickin' spider. Hell, it could be microscopic spider and she'll freak. I always have to kill even the tiniest of spiders. Or she'll ask Gloria to do so. So, I'm going to let her find out herself. It's for the best."

She seemed to be pleased with her choice. "I think there's more to this," Gloria said.

"Ok. It's for…fun." Melissa grinned.

"What did she do?" Caitlin asked.

"Goddamn it dude! I just wanna scare the living hell out of her! G wanted to do something like this on a specific show," Melissa returned. "So…now we have our chance."

"Coolio," murmured Gloria with a smile.

"Guys…can we get to business?" Jessica prompted.

"Alright," Melissa said. "Let's get into the history of the arachnoid shall we? I'm only gonna tell you once so listen up, people! So open you're damn ears! Arachnoids existed five million years ago. They hunted in packs like animals of today like wolves. They spit acid to kill their prey and sometimes used these big long pincer fangs to inject lethal venom. But eventually, the population became too large and it caused a major problem. The more that was born, the more food that was needed to sustain the entire population. Their population was increasing each day. There were only two clans of arachnoids: the Nerubians and the Crypt Fiends. There's only one distinct difference between the two. While both are spiders and have their upper bodies in an upright position, the Crypt Fiends have purple fire-like markings and the Nerubians have green fire-like markings. Anyway, back to the population issue. So many, many arachnoids were hatching from eggs each year. Mind you, spiders create an egg and within several days, it hatches into thousands of spiders. Food started to become scarce where they were living, causing them to move to other places. But one day for some reason the Crypt Fiends believed that the Nerubians were taking more food than they needed. They believed that the Nerubians were trying to kill them off so they could have all the food for themselves. The queen of the Crypt Fiends even believed this. Her name was Gloria, actually. Yes…odd, but true She had a ferocious temper and was feared by all. She declared war on the Nerubians; therefore, causing another ancient war called Warfare of the Spiders.

"The Nerubians weren't prepared for battle. The Nerubians were very peaceful while the Crypt Fiends were very ferocious. Anyway, the Nerubians fought nevertheless. The two arachnoid clans fought for more than three years. But soon, the Nerubians fled to another place, but this time underground. Even with the victory of war and lots of land for themselves, the Crypt Fiends started to die because there wasn't enough food for all of them. They had to think of a way to save their kind. Though they weren't mammals, they can still sleep for God knows how long. So they too dug underground and slept for thousands of years, waiting for food to come back. Though as years went by and food returned, they seemed to not be ready. But someone has awakened them prematurely and has gotten to kill again. It's probably the same person that released the hellhounds."

"Coolio! I still can't believe that my name is from the Crypt Fiend's queen," Gloria said.

"Mel, why is it that you go into such a long story when really all we need to know in how to defeat them?" Caitlin wondered.

"Well, we gotta know what happened in their past so we can figure out why this particular person chose them and why their dangerous, right?" Melissa answered.

"Not exactly," Caitlin disagreed. "We just need to know how to defeat them and what they can do. You're just a know-it-all."

"You know what? Shut up!" Melissa growled.

"So, what are we going to do?" Jessica asked.

"Well, we'll need to go back to the mall," Caitlin responded. "We still don't know how many of them there are!"

"Caitlin's right," agreed Gloria. "We'll have to go back and make sure. We'll get Ashley, but don't tell her what we're going against. If she asks, say 'It's a monster.' ok?"

"Okaaay….but what if she asks what monster?" Jessica asked.

"Then say… 'It's a monster that we don't know about'," Melissa replied. "Point is, don't not tell her about fighting arachnoids."

Everyone nodded in reply. So tonight when everyone in the mall was gone, they'll have to go against one of the ultimate predators…and make sure Ashley doesn't go berserk when she sees one.


	10. Battle of The Arachnoids

Chapter 9: Battle of the Arachnoids

"Ok so what are we supposed to do?" Ashley asked.

"We have to go into the mall to make sure that there are no more arach—I mean uh…monsters," Gloria said hastily. She added a quick smile.

"You guys are acting weird," Ashley commented with a puzzled look.

"Anyway," Caitlin said loudly to quickly change the subject, "let's go already. How are we supposed to get in?"

"I'll give you the ability to be invisible but only for a limited amount of time," Jessica said.

"Ok, but how are we supposed to get in?" reiterated Gloria.

"I'll give you the ability to walk through things. But I'm going to have it last for a few seconds. So once I activate it, you have to quickly run in," Jessica responded.

"Ok, but how are we supposed to get in?" Caitlin echoed for the second frickin' time.

Gloria, Melissa, Jessica, and Ashley gave her strange looks. "Girl," Gloria said, "we've explained the frickin' plan three times and you _still_ don't remember! Jesus Christ! We're supposed to become **invisible** then go and check for any spi—I mean monsters. You and Jessica stay on the roof and **wait** for us. Ash, Mel, and I **stay** as humans, ok? OK!"

"Ok," Caitlin said.

"Why do we even bother?" Melissa said in a hushed voice.

"Alright, let's go!" Jessica said.

Jessica cast the two spells needed for this mission and Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa quickly ran to the mall doors. Caitlin and Jessica sat on the roof with the help of the teleportation spell. Melissa, Gloria, and Ashley got the first part of the plan done. But now they would have to find and face the arachnoids…and handle the part where arachnophobia comes in.

* * *

"Damn it! Have you found any clues?" Gloria asked.

"Hold on," Melissa said.

"Man, can't you turn into a dragon or can't we just turn into vampires?" Ashley asked. "We'll have better luck finding these monsters."

"No, we can't transform into anything big," Gloria explained. "We're trying to sneak up on these things, not let them know we're here. We can only become small things that could help us but not anything huge."

"Vampires aren't huge," Ashley reminded.

"We cannot transform into our forms period!" Gloria yelled.

"Well, I'll turn into a dog, one of the best things that could help. I can't think of anything else that has a good sense of smell. Good enough?" Melissa looked at Gloria for an answer.

Gloria nodded her approval and Melissa became her favorite type of dog: a German Shepard. Neither Ashley nor Gloria altered themselves. As Melissa smelled the floor for any signs of arachnoids, Gloria and Ashley checked the two nearest stores. For some odd reason the stores had nothing that could keep crooks out in the entrance. But it did have surveillance. Luckily, it could not detect them or record what they were saying. Jessica did something with the invisibility spell that allowed them to yell or talk without the fear of being recorded by surveillance or even activate the alarms in the stores.

It was dead silent in the mall, giving them an uneasy feeling.

"Hey I think I found something," Ashley said. Melissa quickly ran to where she was, along with Gloria, and turned back to normal. "Oh and just so you know, it's not a pleasant sight," she added.

Their eyesight had adapted to the darkness so they could see pretty well. And they couldn't believe what they were looking at. Melissa took out her flashlight that she brought just in case they needed it and shined it on the thing they were staring at. It was a headless corpse stuck to the wall from white sticky…stuff! "What the hell?" Gloria muttered to herself.

"Is it just me or did that damn thing move?" Melissa asked.

She pointed to the area where the head should've been. The body literally started twitching. They all took a step back. Suddenly the weirdest yet grossest thing happened. Little black spiders crawled out from the neck! Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa looked at them with disgusted looks and gaping mouths. "AHHHH!" Ashley screamed.

Melissa just stared at them for a few more seconds and fainted. Ashley ran outside the store and started running and screaming, over and over and over. Gloria rolled her eyes and shook her head at the same time. She sighed, got a nearby broom in the store that for some reason was just _there_, and started smacking the spiders. There were probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of them. She stepped on them and smacked them with the broom. She didn't want to create a catastrophe by using her powers. Attacking with her powers would destroy the store or damage it. Melissa woke up and saw the spiders all around Gloria. She fainted again. It took Gloria nearly half an hour to kill all of them.

But there was one more spider and this was no small one. It was black and started walking towards Melissa. Ashley was _still_ running and screaming like a little girl. Gloria stepped on it. But when she removed her foot, it was still moving. "What the hell?" Gloria cursed.

She got the broom and started smacking it. She hit it maybe 15 times and yet it was still moving. Green gooey stuff started oozing from the spider's wounds. Half of its legs were gone, causing it to drag itself. Gloria growled and stepped on it again but twisted her foot this time. When she picked up her foot, the spider was finally dead but she had green stuff smeared on the bottom of her shoe. "Ew," Gloria said.

She tried to clean up the stuff by rubbing her foot on the floor. Then she dragged Melissa out of the store and stopped Ashley. Ashley was still freaking out. She grabbed Gloria by the shoulders and shook her. "Where are the spiders? Are there still more? Are there? Are there? ARE THERE!"

"NO!" Gloria shouted. She took in a deep breath and said, "Now I want you to breathe in and out. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale."

Ashley followed her instructions and calmed down. She kept breathing in and out and also said it to herself. "Keep doing that until I get Mel to wake up," Gloria ordered.

She went to Melissa and tried to get her to wake up. She finally did and asked, "Ugh…what happened?" in a weak voice.

"I'll explain later," Gloria answered back.

Gloria, Melissa, and a freaked out Ashley continued to look for any "monsters," but Ashley still didn't know of the true reason they were here.

* * *

2 hours later…

* * *

"How long are we going to be here?" Ashley questioned, unable to hide her fear.

"Don't know," Gloria replied.

"C'mon you guys! We have to check the entire mall. We've only checked half," Melissa said.

"Good Lord," Ashley whispered.

"Hey I think I saw something," Gloria said.

"Where?" Ashley asked. She already started freaking out and she hid behind Gloria. Gloria rolled her eyes and groaned.

"C'mon you guys, I think I saw it too," Melissa said. "Let's check it out!" She had a tendency to check out things without knowing whether it was dangerous or not.

"Hell no!" Ashley exclaimed. "I am **not** moving from this spot!"

"Ok," Gloria said, seeming _pleased_ with her answer. "You can stay here with the tiny spiders and bugs."

"Spiders!" Ashley shouted.

"Way to go G," Melissa muttered to Gloria. "You really made her feel better."

"Ah! I don't wanna be with the spiders. I'll go!" Ashley declared.

"Good," Gloria said. "Now let's go."

They went to where Melissa and Gloria claimed to see something. They went closer, but slowly. Then something pushed Ashley forward. She took a glance behind her and saw something very big in front of her. She saw the thing move closer and shined the flashlight on it. The thing was black, had 8 eyes, and she could see some of its large pincers. Ashley looked at it and felt like she was going to have a heart attack. "Gl—Gl—Gl," she stuttered.

"Ashley, keep quiet," Gloria whispered.

"Gl—Gl—Gl—Gloria," Ashley stammered in a squeaky voice. "Gloria…"

Gloria growled and asked, "What?"

"SPIDER!" Ashley roared at the top of her lungs but she didn't move an inch. Gloria and Melissa looked back and they saw what they were looking for. "Ashley," Melissa whispered, "don't frickin' move."

Ashley's heart raced as the monster got closer. Though they were invisible, the arachnoid was able to see them. It slightly opened its mouth and growled. She could see saliva dripping from its teeth and she could see its pincers get closer around her neck. The spikes on its pincers were barely touching her skin. Gloria and Melissa tried to get closer to go behind it, but it spotted Melissa. Since Gloria could hide very well in darkness, it didn't see her. Melissa stood still, but motioned Gloria to keep moving. Gloria continued as the monster turned its attention back to Ashley.

Ashley started hyperventilating. The arachnoid looked like it was ready to close its pincers on Ashley's neck. The pincers spread out and quickly closed in when…ROAR! The arachnoid roared loudly, raising its head high. The spikes on its pincers missed slashing Ashley's neck by mere inches. She was so scared, she fainted. Melissa caught her and looked up to see why the monster screamed in pain.

Gloria had stabbed the monster's large abdomen with a dagger that she always kept with her. Black blood squirted from the stab wound. It screamed more when she removed it. "Gloria, catch!" Melissa yelled.

She threw a long blue sword with a handle that had a thunder bolt blade on the bottom. As Caitlin did with her sword, she named it X-Thundura (Gloria liked to call it X-tra Thunder), the name of a legendary blue dragon. The arachnoid turned around to face Gloria. It roared angrily and was going to attack with its claws, but Gloria reacted quicker by slicing the monster's head off. The arachnoid's head rolled onto the floor and stopped by Melissa's feet.

Melissa picked up the head and said, "I should keep this as a trophy." She smiled at Gloria, but she returned her smile with a strange look as if to say, "O…k, you're insane." Ashley woke up several seconds later. Gloria helped her up and gave Melissa back X-Thundura. She put it back in its sheath attached to her belt. "Alright then. Can we like…go now?" Ashley requested.

"No!" Gloria and Melissa yelled in unison.

"We now know that there are more arachnoids," Gloria continued. "Besides, we haven't checked the entire mall."

"Arachnoid?" Ashley asked, puzzled.

Gloria stared at Melissa, giving her the "now's the time to tell her" look. "Alright," Melissa sighed, "I need to tell you something Ashley. We've known about the arachnoids. When I found one and told everyone else, we didn't tell you. So we agreed that we would tell you we're going against _just_ a monster. So we basically lied to you."

"What?" Ashley demanded. "So you knew about the—the spiders all along?"

Gloria and Melissa exchanged looks and said, "Yes."

Ashley growled and was stomping towards them when Gloria said, "Spider."

"Where?" Ashley asked.

"Anyway!" Melissa quickly shouted. "We have a problem."

"What?" Gloria asked.

"The invisibility is wearing off. We've only got an hour left," Melissa announced.

Jessica had the invisibility spell work for only 5 hours and they still had a few more stores to check. "Then we have to hurry," Gloria said.

All 3 of them checked everywhere as fast as they could. They found nothing in any other store, not even evidence of the arachnoids being in it. They had only one store left to check with 5 minutes to spare: the destroyed Kohls. They went in and were about to spilt up when they heard a growl. "What was that?" Melissa asked.

"Um…I don't know," Gloria replied.

"Ahhhhh!" Ashley screamed.

Melissa glared at her. "Dude, what the hell is up with all this damn screaming!" she demanded.

Gloria tapped Melissa on the shoulder. "What?" she asked.

Gloria's mouth was hanging open and she was pointing at something. Melissa looked at what she was pointing at and her mouth also hung open. There were nine, maybe even ten, hell maybe even eleven, arachnoids right in front of them. They were all poised for attack. "Oh shit," Melissa whispered to herself.

The arachnoids took a step forward. Gloria, Melissa, and Ashley didn't move from where they were. "Gloria, you've got a plan?" Melissa asked. "Because we're going to need it NOW!"

"Transform now!" Gloria commanded.

* * *

Meanwhile on top of the mall roof…

* * *

"You've got any sevens?" Jessica asked.

"What's a seven?" Caitlin asked, playing dumb.

Jessica smiled and laughed a bit. Then she repeated, "Stop playing stupid Caitlin. Do you have any sevens?"

"Go fish," Caitlin replied. She yawned. She was bored now.

"Let's play something else."

"What?"

"Let's play…King's Corner."

"How do you play that?"

Jessica explained to Caitlin how to play. When she was done, she started setting up, but suddenly they heard a loud roar that cause the mall to literally rumble as if an earthquake hit the place. "What the heck was that?" Jessica asked.

"I dunno," Caitlin answered.

They stared at each other, looking worried. Silence settled in. "Now c'mon, let's play!" Caitlin whined.

Jessica didn't feel right. She had a gut feeling that something was happening and it wasn't a good thing. But she took her mind off of the subject and returned to playing with Caitlin. Jessica and Caitlin continued playing their little card games, unaware of the battle taking place inside the mall.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the mall…

* * *

Melissa swung her tail at an arachnoid, slamming it to the wall. Gloria slashed another arachnoid on the face. Ashley was well…in a fetal position, sucking on her thumb like a baby. Two arachnoids jumped on to Melissa's back and slashed her. She roared in pain and anger and jumped into the air. She landed on her back, squashing them both. Black blood flew from the bodies. Melissa got to her feet and discharged a cone of blue electricity. It missed the targeted arachnoid by mere inches. The attack hit some clothes in the boys section. The clothes were instantly destroyed. "Crap!" Melissa shouted.

Gloria flew up and said "Tinado des inkartelor!" Suddenly a black tornado appeared and swept some of the arachnoids off their feet and a few things from the store. The tornado blew them out of the store. She smiled in triumph until she saw an arachnoid right behind Ashley. She swooped down and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt. She was very aware that she was choking Ashley so she quickly yelled, "Melissa here!"

She threw Ashley to Melissa. She turned around and, startled, yelled, "What the hell!" Ashley kept yelling but Melissa caught her in her claws. "Stay!" she ordered when she placed her on the 2nd floor of the store, which had a big hole overlooking the battlefield. She went back to fighting with Gloria. Ashley watched, perched on the 2nd floor near the large hole.

Gloria continued slashing the arachnoids. The arachnoids that were blown away by the tornado had returned to the fight. Then she raised her hand and 3 dark circles appeared on the ground. 3 semi-skeletons (skeletons with some skin and sometimes rotten flesh on bones but not a lot and _not_ zombies) appeared. They had shields and a sword. Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa have the ability to summon undead humans or creatures. They would be either skeletons or semi-skeletons.

Anyway, the 3 semi-skeleton warriors attacked the arachnoids. They were able to kill 3 and wound a 4th. Gloria was in the air, watching the fight, but she was unaware of an arachnoid poised to attack behind her. It suddenly spit a large acid ball at her. "G, watch out!" Ashley warned.

Gloria then saw the acid ball, but didn't react quickly enough. The acid ball did its damage. She screeched in pain as she fell to the ground. Two more arachnoids fired deadly but smaller spheres of acid. "Shit!" Melissa cursed.

She roared in anger and ran to Gloria's aid. But she too was hit with 3 spheres of acid. She fell to her side and tried to get up but, like Gloria, was in agony. Gloria didn't give up. She got herself up, despite her body having serious burns. She closed her burned wings around her and when she spread them again, a swarm of black bats flew out and attacked the arachnoids. Melissa also got up and breathed a stream of fire. The bats bit chunks of flesh off the arachnoids while the fire burned two of them. But the remaining three were able to kill the bats and avoid the fire. One of them leaped onto Melissa and ripped her throat open with a slash of the spikes facing each other on its pincers. Blood gushed from the deadly gash and even caused her to suffocate. A certain part in her throat was ripped from the spikes, which prevented her from breathing. She started gasping for air. Blood trickled down the sides of her mouth.

Another arachnoid jumped on to Gloria's chest, pushing her down. Then as it held her down, it slowly and painfully slit her chest open, torturing her. Gloria screeched in pain. Then the spider moved up to her throat. The vampire tried to keep it away but was held down firmly. The spider's spikes would easily finish Gloria off, but the spider seemed to _want_ to prolong the torture it was inflicting. So instead of finishing her off, it slowly cut her body, causing Gloria to groan and yell in pain.

Ashley watched as Gloria and Melissa suffered from torture as well as risked their lives. She watched as the monster continued slashing Gloria slowly and painfully and as the last two arachnoids were laughing in spider tongues at Melissa's struggle for air. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just stand there and watch them die. She got up and finally jumped off the 2nd floor, landing feet first. "It's time to go to Hell!" she yelled.

Black energy suddenly surrounded her. Melissa and Gloria could barely move their head but could see her. She started to transform into her vampire form, but them became totally see-through. She split and became mist. Mist, and very thick mist, surrounded the arachnoids. The one on Gloria was distracted by the mist and walked off of her. The other two couldn't see anything. Then all of a sudden, the heads of the two arachnoids fell to the floor. The last remaining ones started to find out what caused them to die this way. Then its head was sliced clear off. Blood squirted from their necks. The mist cleared and Ashley stood with her dark blade, smeared with black blood. It started dripping from the sword.

She ran to Gloria and Melissa and used a spell to help them change back to normal. They all stood where they were. "Thanks Ash," Melissa said, "though I still can't believe you actually did this."

"Yeah," Gloria said. "Thanks."

They hugged her and she hugged them back, glad to be well and alive. Then they walked outside to where Caitlin and Jessica were through a big hole in the back of the store. "You guys, what was going on?" Caitlin asked.

"Let's just go home," Gloria replied. "I need a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries with lots of mustard. I'm really tired. We'll tell you as we go."

They all flew back home and Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa told Caitlin and Jessica about what had occurred in the mall.


	11. Discovery of the Crypt Fiends' Hive

Chapter 10: Discovery of the Crypt Fiends' Hive

The next morning, everyone was at Caitlin's house. Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa didn't get to finish telling Caitlin and Jessica about what happened in the mall so they finished their story. "So Ashley helped us, which _was_ a miracle, and killed the rest of the arachnoids. Then we got out and we caught up with you guys," Gloria said.

"So is that it?" Jessica asked.

"What?" Ashley asked.

"Is that all the arachnoids?" Jessica asked again.

"No," Melissa replied.

"It wasn't?" Gloria questioned.

"No," Melissa answered again. "There couldn't have been ten arachnoids without a nest. Earlier this morning, I went back to the mall myself before it opened. I got to study the dead arachnoids and looked for any evidence leading to where they might have come. I saw an arachnoid leaving the mall and I followed it. I'm assuming the arachnoid went to check on its comrades. Anyway, I changed into a crow and I followed it even further from the mall and I saw it go into a hill through a hole on the bottom. From my understanding, that hill could contain a hive. The hole was covered in spider webs. So we have to go there and destroy it. This is the only hive and the last arachnoids are there, hiding and trying to raise their population. Otherwise, we'd be hearing about them in the news all over the place."

"You're kidding," Gloria said.

Melissa cocked a brow in reply like she meant to say "Does it look like I'm kidding?" "I'll take that as a no," Gloria said.

"Today we'll have to go," Melissa continued. "If we wait any longer, we'll have more than 100 arachnoids. And I don't think Ashley wants to go through that again."

Ashley stared at them and shook her head. "Alright then," Gloria said. "We'll leave in several minutes."

"Ok," Ashley, Melissa, Caitlin, and Jessica replied in unison.


	12. Crypt Fiend Extermination

Chapter 11: Crypt Fiend Extermination

**A/N**: I use some second language in this chapter and in a future one. If I used the words wrong, please tell me. I get confused with the words of the 2nd language.

* * *

"This is it?" Caitlin asked. 

"Um…yeah," Melissa replied.

"You've got to be kidding," Ashley said. "We CANNOT be going in there."

She could see spider webs surrounding the entrance of the hive. She walked with the others to the hole. "You can stay out here then," Melissa said.

"Cool!" Ashley smiled.

"With all the bugs, spiders, and venomous snakes," Gloria added. By the time she said spider, Ashley changed her mind. "Um…never mind."

"Can you make up your mind?" Melissa asked.

She went in first. There were spider webs completely covering the walls of the entrance. Gloria went in next. Ashley was breathing fast just by imagining what was inside the hill. Caitlin pushed her inside and also went in. Ashley refused to go in but Caitlin and Jessica pushed her in. "No! No! NOOO!" Ashley cried.

Everyone went inside and couldn't believe what they saw when they reached the heart of the hill. Inside the entire hill, the walls were covered in so much spider webs, it was completely white. In the middle, there was a gigantic pink ball covered in bumps and pulsing nerves. Spider webs were holding it against the walls of the hill. The ground was sticky and also covered in spider webs. "Jesus Christ," Gloria whispered.

Then suddenly a wave of brown, black, and other colors crawled out behind the ugly ball. "Jesus Christ! What the hell _is _that?" Gloria yelled.

"They're spiders!" Melissa yelled. "They are all the most venomous spiders on Earth!"

"You're kidding right?" Ashley asked.

"I know how we can kill them fast," Caitlin called out.

The spiders got closer and they covered the floor. There were so many types of spiders like black widows, tarantulas, and funnel web spiders. When they got closer, Caitlin stood in front of the others and took out her sword. She sank it into the ground and the entire ground started to freeze before their eyes. And it started heading towards the spiders. All the spiders were frozen within a few seconds. "That was awesome," Jessica commented.

"So…what is that big, ugly, pulsing thing supposed to be?" Ashley asked, pointing to the pink ball.

"The Crypt Fiend's egg is what it is. Billions will be born if that egg isn't destroyed!" Melissa replied.

"What?" Caitlin shouted. Melissa nodded and silence settled in from disbelief.

A loud growl shattered the silence.

"What was that?" Jessica asked.

"She made it," Melissa said, pointing at something.

Everyone looked up at the top of the egg to see a larger Crypt Fiend. "It's the Crypt Fiend Queen," she added.

The Crypt Fiend Queen jumped off and landed in front of them. She roared loudly, spreading her pincers wide apart. Her roar was very chilling and froze everyone's blood. "What do we do?" Jessica asked.

"I don't think we can do anything," Melissa murmured.

"Why?" Gloria demanded.

"Because the Crypt Fiend Queen is like—like the Alien Empress in AVP (Alien VS Predator). Stupid example, yes, but it's all I got. She is virtually invincible. We have to have seriously heavy firepower to kill the Queen," Melissa explained. "Even with all our forms, we could still lose."

The virtually invincible Queen kept walking towards the girls. Everyone else kept walking back, not daring to get close to the large arachnoid. The Queen was about to attack when something landed on her back. Then two more leaped onto her back. The Queen tried to grab the attacking creatures but couldn't. Five more appeared and attacked her. She roared loudly in pain. Caitlin, Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, and Jessica watched in confusion and awe as the Queen was being taken down by an unknown species of creature, assuming it wasn't the same one. "You guys, while those monsters are doing this, we should destroy the egg before it hatches!" Gloria said.

"Ready Mel?" Jessica asked.

"Ready!" Melissa replied with a grin.

They both stuck their hands out. Fire surrounded Melissa's left arm while wind surrounded Jessica's right. "Fire tornado!" they shouted at the same time.

A giant tornado of fire formed and headed towards the egg. The egg was blasted by the tornado and burst into flames. It started oozing white goop and became black. It soon became lifeless. They turned their attention back to the Queen and looked down to find her on the ground, dead. They looked up and were staring into the eyes of one of the eight attacking creatures. They were exactly like the Crypt Fiends except they had green markings. "Nerubians," Melissa murmured in a soft voice.

"Um…thank you," Gloria said, not sure what to say to the arachnoids Melissa called Nerubians.

"Thou art welcome," the biggest and leading Nerubian said in a deep voice.

"Whoa! It talked," Caitlin commented.

"Nah, ya think!" Melissa said sarcastically. "We thank thou, o mighty one. To thank thou, we shalt give thou this place and leave the Nerubians alone."

"I thank thou. Thy kind shalt stay here," the leading one said. "Thy name is Narsebarian."

"Thy name is Melissa and these art Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, and Caitlin," Melissa introduced.

"You know, there is another place where you can live," Caitlin said.

"Thanks but thee and thy kind shalt stay. It's farther from civilization," explained Narsebarian. "If thou need us, then we'll help to show our appreciation."

"Thanks," Ashley said.

Everyone left Narsebarian and the rest of the Nerubians alone. Then they started walking home. "That was a weird conversation Mel," Gloria mentioned.

"Hey they only speak 2nd language," Melissa said. "They're beginning to speak English now like us."

"At least the spiders are gone," Ashley sighed, relieved finally.

"Yep! But I think we're just getting started," Jessica noted.

"You're right. When I was back at the mall, I took one of the heads of the Crypt Fiends and I've kept it in that underground cave of ours. Gloria, Ashley you've got to study it," Melissa explained.

"WHAT!" Ashley and Gloria yelled in unison.

"Hey you are the death experts. I'm just the monster expert," Melissa reminded.

"Don't remind me," Gloria muttered. "We'll do it later on today."

* * *

Later on that day…

* * *

"Ready Ash?" Gloria questioned. 

"Uh…no," Ashley answered.

Ashley and Gloria put on latex gloves and long light blue lab coats. Both girls went inside the examination room that was in the underground cave. The underground cave was more than _just_ a cave. It was a laboratory where they studied things and a personal training area for all 5 girls. The head of the Crypt Fiend was in the room in a glass box. Ashley asked, "Why didn't you get the rest of the body? How is the head alone supposed to help us?"

"Oh, I can answer that," Caitlin stated.

"You can?" Ashley asked, raising a brow.

"Oh c'mon dude! She's not that stupid, even if she can be weird at times," Melissa commented.

"Oh and like you're not?" said Ashley.

"Anyways, there's a reason why you have to examine the head. There's a reason why the arachnoid attacked that specific girl instead of attacking any person," Caitlin explained. "Judging from Melissa's story, these things were probably ordered to attack specific people. If not, they would've been attacking random people. The head's all we need to figure out why. It might have something implanted in it or something like that. With your powers, we can find out…well why this is happening. The same person who took control of them was probably responsible for taking control of the hellhounds."

Everyone was surprised. "That didn't sound like you," Jessica commented.

"Is that you speaking or Melissa?" Gloria asked.

"What?" Caitlin inquired in confusion.

"Meaning did Melissa tell you to say that?" Gloria asked again.

"Nope. Just me," Caitlin said. Gloria nodded in satisfaction. "I knew you couldn't be that stupid," she smiled.

"C'mon guys, let's get to work," Ashley said. She and Gloria got dissecting tools ready. Then they went inside to study the head while Melissa, Jessica, and Caitlin waited outside, waiting for the results.

* * *

30 minutes later…

* * *

"Mel, you might want to see this," Ashley said. "You too, Cait and Jess." 

Jessica, Melissa, and Caitlin went inside and found Gloria and Ashley by a screen. Their lab coats were covered in blood. The arachnoid's head was on a steel table and it was sliced open. The brain was in a glass cylinder. "Watch this," Gloria said.

There was a series of buttons and Gloria pressed a button that made a blurry picture in the screen rewind. "This is what happened when the Crypt Fiends woke up," Ashley said.

"Why is it blurry?" Caitlin asked.

"The Crypt Fiends had poor eyesight but make it up with their powerful senses," Melissa replied.

"Listen!" Gloria cried, pressing the play button.

"I am the one who has awakened you," a male voice said. The blurry figure was a black male with a red shirt and light shorts. That's all everyone saw. "I am here to get you to join me. I need you to do a few things. In return, you'll be able to do as you wish with people and anything else you'd like. I need you to kill a few people for me. If you agree, then follow me."

Gloria pressed the forward button and then stopped it. The voice continued. "I need you to kill a girl named Sarah Jones. Here's a picture of her. Also kill the next person that sees you if that happens. She lives in Tranquility. Her address is 12555 Sarano Ave. Tranquility City, CA 67343. Find her and kill her."

"That girl that I saw must've been her," Melissa said. "She must've done something that made that guy upset. Figures, she was a bitch to me."

"The people that are being killed by the monsters probably have something to do with this guy," Caitlin guessed.

"The only question is what?" Jessica noted.

"Whoever this guy is was most likely the one that freed the hellhounds," Gloria said.

"We'll find out soon enough," Ashley added. "For now, we need to rest."

* * *

Far, far away in the same castle, someone was watching his screen…again. "Darn you people!" he yelled. "Abby!" 

Then a young lady with brown eyes and brown hair arrived. She was wearing a white short sleeve shirt and a blue skirt. "Yes master?" Abby asked lazily.

Abby was a prisoner who was kidnapped by this man and was forced to work for him. "Get me a glass of water NOW!" he ordered.

"The least you can do is say please," Abby said.

"Fine! Can you _please_ get me a glass of water?" he echoed.

"Master Ation, get you're a—butt up and go get it yourself!" Abby growled defiantly.

"You're the servant! Get it now!" Ation snarled. Then he whispered, "Fat girl."

"Excuse me?" Abby roared angrily. "Oh no, you didn't! Boy, say it again and it'll be your head."

Ation gulped. "I'll get you a glass, but I want to get out of these crappy clothes. I wanna wear whatever I want and do what I want," Abby demanded.

"Fine," Ation finally agreed.

Abby got him a glass of water. He was left alone and he muttered to himself, "It's time to release thethird weapon."


	13. Attack of The Thunder Lizard

Chapter 12: Attack of the Thunder Lizard

"So what'cha doing today?" Caitlin asked.

"I have a date with Spike tonight at 6:00 PM," Gloria replied.

"Well its 4:59 PM right now," Caitlin said. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I have something," Gloria uttered. "Have you been able to find any information about that black guy?"

"Uh…excuse me?" Caitlin said. "How the heck am I supposed to find info? I don't even know where to start. I didn't even know we had to find info on this guy."

"Duh! What made you think you shouldn't? There's a way. Mel, Ash, and Jess have already started looking for info. We're trying to get more information on the people who died."

"What help would that do?"

"I…don't know. It wasn't my plan to do so."

"Well why didn't you ask me to come?"

"You were on your date with Jack."

"Who?"

"Jack. You know Johnny Depp a.k.a Jack Sparrow. You like to call him that."

"Oh yeah."

Gloria rolled her eyes. _At least Mel's not the only one, _she thought. "You are so frickin' weird Caitlin."

"I was just playing around. Anyway, did you find anything?" Caitlin asked.

"Unfortunately, no."

"And you complain to me about not finding anything?"

"I wasn't complaining! I was asking! There's a difference!"

Caitlin gasped. "I have to go! My favorite show is on!"

"Oh! So now you're saying your show is more important than talking to me?"

"Yeah!" Then Caitlin hung up without saying goodbye.

"Jeez! How rude!" She hung up as well. "Well, better get ready."

She took a quick shower and got dressed into blue jeans and a white shirt that said "Warning: Attitude Issues." She was not into dresses and things like that. It wasn't her style. She brushed her hair and waited for James.

A minute or two after 6, the doorbell rang. Gloria opened the door and saw James standing outside. He was wearing a brown shirt with a black trench coat, gray pants, and black boots. He liked to wear black. James asked, "Ready?"

"Sure am," Gloria answered.

They both left the house and James opened the passenger door of his black Lexus. Gloria went in and so did James. He started the car and drove out of the parkway. He asked, "Where do you want to go first?"

"Maybe restaurant first," Gloria replied. James nodded in reply and drove to Outback Steakhouse. They had a big and expensive dinner. While eating, they were planning on what to do next. James wanted to take Gloria to the theater, but they didn't know what to see. "It's still showing 'The Da Vinci Code' right?" Gloria questioned.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. I just don't know the times," James answered.

"Then let's see that," Gloria said. "I've heard it was good."

"Then 'The Da Vinci Code' it is," Spike said.

They both left and went to the theaters. "The Da Vinci Code" kept Gloria interested in the movie, even though she pretty much knew what would happen. During the movie, Gloria placed her head on James' chest to get more comfortable. But as they enjoyed it, something was waiting for Gloria at her house, hiding in the shadows, waiting for its prey to return home.

* * *

"So did you like it?" James asked.

"Yeah, it was really good," Gloria said.

James reached Gloria's house and announced, "Here we are."

"Thanks for tonight, Spike," Gloria said.

James smiled and nodded. Gloria stared into James' gray eyes and got closer to him. Then James placed his lips on hers. They kissed for several seconds when James said, "Good-night."

"Good-night" Gloria smiled and looked at him, almost dreamily. "I love you."

"As do I," James smiled back.

She got out and went inside her house. She could hear James drive out of the driveway and towards home. She went upstairs and slowly changed. She turned off the light and was about to get to bed when she heard leaves rustling. She got up and looked out the window, but didn't see anything. She closed the window and headed to bed again. But she suddenly heard heavy footsteps outside and it didn't sound human. It sounded more like a giant walking in her front yard.

She felt very anxious and had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. _Something definitely doesn't feel right, _she thought nervously. She looked out the window again. Still nothing. Her heart started pounding hard against her chest. She closed the window once again. She sat down at the edge of her bed, trembling from fear and the cold. Then without warning, she heard something very heavy sink something sharp into the wood of her home. Then claws appeared on the wall and a reptilian face came into sight on the window. It hissed with its long forked tongue like a snake. Gloria gasped as the wall started to break. She ran downstairs and could also hear the monster walking outside the wall, following her. She could see more claw marks on the walls.

The front door was abruptly blasted to pieces and the lizard's head emerged again. Gloria screamed in fear. The lizard came off the wall and landed on its four feet. It looked black, but it was actually blue with thunder shaped stripes. There were four lightning shaped spikes that were probably five or even six ft long on each side and slanted. It had glowing red eyes, a thunder bolt shaped horn, and 3 shiny black claws on each foot. Gloria was dumbfounded by its immense size. It was nearly 30 ft long, its tail being almost 15 ft! _That is the longest and biggest lizard I've ever seen, _she commented.

The lizard roared a deep and terrifying roar. Gloria started backing away as it got closer. The lizard started snarling, showing its razor-sharp teeth. It opened its mouth and roared again. It wasn't as loud as the first. As swiftly as it had opened its powerful jaws, two fangs on the upper and lower jaws literally came out of its gums. They could've been a foot or two in length. But as it started closing its jaws, the two fangs sank back into its gums. "Eww," Gloria said.

The large lizard started getting closer and Gloria started getting farther. Then she started running back up the stairs and fast. The lizard roared again and ran after her. _Shit, that thing's frickin' fast! _she thought. She ran to her room, closed the door, and hid inside her closet. The lizard rammed the door with its body and started looking for her. Gloria tried to control her breathing to be as quiet as possible. The lizard flicked its forked tongue into the air like a snake. It started getting closer to the closet. The reptile's heavy footprints got louder as it got closer. For a short while it became dead silent. Gloria relaxed a little, but waited for a while longer. She couldn't be sure that the lizard was gone.

Then without warning, claws appeared on the closet door. Gloria was so startled by the sudden attack, she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. The lizard brought its claws down, slashing the door, and crashed its head into the door, roaring in her face. Its breath smelled of dried blood and flesh. Gloria held her breath and kicked the monster's eye as hard as she could. The lizard roared in pain and backed away. Gloria got up and decided running away wasn't going to solve her problem. She changed into her vampiric form and screeched loudly. The lizard turned around and faced her. Gloria noticed its eyes, which were no longer blood red. It was now dark red. It roared again and charged at Gloria. Gloria flapped her wings and evaded its attack. The lizard missed and crashed into her dresser. "Damn it!" Gloria cursed. "You know how much that was!"

The lizard got up but before it could do anything, Gloria headed downstairs. She would have more room to fight the lizard when downstairs. The lizard reached the bottom and tried to slam Gloria. This time it was successful. Gloria hit a wall so hard, she broke it and hit the cold, cement floor of her garage. She got up and saw the lizard in front of her again. It charged at her once again, but Gloria slashed it with her claws, stopping it in its tracks. It roared as blood seeped from its wounds. This was Gloria's chance. She sank her fangs into the lizard's neck. Out of the blue, blue and yellow energy appeared and circled her arms. The energy sank into her chest. Gloria and Ashley, being the vampires they are, can, of course, suck blood from something or someone and make them weaker as well as suck a little bit of power out of them if they had any to make it their own.

The lizard roared and wrapped its long and powerful tail around Gloria's neck, choking her. It threw her to the other side of the house. The wall broke and she landed on the wet ground outside. She saw lights going on in houses and people going outside to see what was going on. Then she turned her attention back to the lizard. She could see the lizard charging up its electric attack. She could see the thunder shaped spikes turn from silver to blue. Then the energy in the spikes joined together and created a single ball of electricity. The ball became brighter and brighter. Subsequently, the spikes started doing the same. Gloria had a very bad feeling about this. A beam of electricity was fired from the ball of energy. It headed towards Gloria at full speed. She gasped and eluded the oncoming attack. The beam missed her by mere inches.

Then Gloria realized that the beam of electricity was headed towards a house across the street. "Goddamn it!" she shouted. She held her hand out and fired a huge dark ball. It hit the beam of electricity, canceling it. She smiled in triumph, but heard the lizard roar yet again. _Goddamn it! What the hell is up with all this roaring?_ she thought angrily.

She got up, hovered off the ground, and grabbed the lizard's snout with the claws on her foot. It sank deep into its snout. She tried to take to the air, but was whipped by the lizard's tail. She roared loudly in pain and fell back down, letting go of the monster's nose. She looked down at her chest to see a deep whip mark. Blood trickled down from her painful gash. She gritted her teeth very hard to handle the pain. The lizard saw its chance.

It bit Gloria's right leg, bringing her down to the ground again. She cried out as the lizard tightened its grip. Gloria tried to get it off. She could feel excruciating pain as her bone literally started to break. She could even _hear_ it breaking. The lizard started crushing Gloria's leg with its jaws alone. Her eyes started glowing red from anger. Gloria grabbed the monster's right front leg and as a result, ripped some of its flesh clear off. The monster screamed in agony, finally letting go of her leg. Blood poured from its agonizing injury. Gloria tried to get up, but felt a sharp pain surge through her body. She dragged herself until she reached a big, old tree and used one of its branches to help herself up.

The reptile, enraged now, again charged at her. She flew up into the air, dodging it again, and grabbing the lizard's left eye, tearing it out. It roared deafeningly in both anger and pain. This time, it wouldn't let Gloria escape its grasp. It lifted its tail and wrapped it around Gloria's body, tightening its grasp on her. Gloria thrashed about, but it made the lizard tighten its grip, suffocating her, precluding air from reaching her lungs. Gloria knew that if she didn't do something and quick, she would die. "Seithr!" she finally yelled.

She opened her mouth and let out an almost inaudible screech. At long last the lizard let go of her, whipping its head from side to side, hoping to shake off the effects of the spell. Gloria took in a deep breath of air, filling her lungs with fresh air after what felt like forever. She got up, ignoring the pain, and slashed the lizard's side with her hand. It whipped its tail again but this time, Gloria caught it in mid air with her hands. She threw it as far as she could. It landed on the street and before she could give it time to get up, she exclaimed "Kosta-merna!"

The lizard was about to attack after getting up when it was burned by acid. It roared in pain as a pool of acid formed under it. The lizard's skin evaporated and its flesh was burning, causing much pain. _Whoa! It looks like its melting! _Gloria thought. The lizard started to literally _sink_ into the pool of acid. The last thing Gloria heard was a roar of pain. Then it was gone. Gloria could then hear the sound of helicopters and the police arriving. "Crap!" Gloria yelled.

She limped back inside her wrecked home and turned back to herself. She hid inside her closet to make it seem like she was trying to hide from the monster. She no longer had a crushed leg. She had gotten a crushed leg as vampire and because she was human again, her injury no longer existed but could still feel the pain. The same thing worked with her other friends. If they got an injury in one form, and if they transformed to another, the injury would be gone, but they would still be able to feel the pain.

She waited inside another closet that wasn't destroyed until she finally heard people storm in and look for any danger. She stayed inside the closet, not making a sound. Then the closet door opened and a SWAT member was staring at her with a rifle pointed at her head. His flashlight was blinding her. "Oh my God…Gloria, is that you?" the man asked.

Gloria took a good look at the man and realized that it was Leon. "Leon, thank God you're here," she said, sounding relieved.

Leon grabbed her hand and took her outside. "Gloria, what happened here? And are you ok?" he asked, concerned.

Gloria filled him in, but of course her entire story was a lie. She could not let him know of her true secret, of what really happened. "And yes I'm fine," she added afterwards.

"Good. Listen, head to Jess' house. From what I know, she doesn't live all that far from you. The police might want to speak with you as well," Leon explained.

"Ok. Thanks Leon," said Gloria.

Leon nodded and went to join his fellow SWAT members. He was right about the police. Gloria had no choice but to speak with them and tell them the same story she told Leon. Once that was over, she walked to Jessica's house to sleep over since she was the closest. It was only a 5 minute walk to her house. Gloria explained to Jessica about what had happened and together they chose to ask Melissa about the lizards and tell the others about it. But for now, she needed her rest.


	14. Lizard Trap

Chapter 13: Lizard Trap

The next morning, Gloria and Jessica called Melissa to see if they could talk. She agreed to talk to them and they decided to meet at her house. Ashley and Caitlin were also called. By the time Gloria and Jessica reached Melissa's house, Ashley and Caitlin were already there. They all met in the family room and sat down. "So what did you want to talk about?" Melissa asked.

Gloria told everyone about what had happened last night. "You're lucky to be alive," Ashley said after she was done.

"Yes, you are," Caitlin added.

"What kind of monster was this?" Gloria asked.

"We are talking about an ancient monster here," Melissa said, "and what you saw was a thunder lizard."

"A thunder lizard?" Gloria echoed.

"A thunder lizard," Melissa went on, "is obviously an electricity lover like me. They've existed since the time of the dinosaurs. Legend has it that the lizards had a leader by the name of Thunduro who believed he got the power of electricity by the gods and that he was destined to have it. He passed down his power from high ranking thunder lizards to lower ranking ones, which is how they got their electric power. But once the first people came, they had to learn to live with it, which they did. They lived in peace with the humans…until something terrible occurred. As time went on, more humans started to inhabit their homeland. They still lived in peace with them. But for no known reason to them, their kind started to decrease drastically. They didn't understand why thunder lizards were starting to disappear. But one day, a thunder lizard was exploring and saw a human targeting another lizard. The young one didn't understand why the human was doing that. Suddenly the human shot the lizard, instantly killing it. The young lizard saw even more humans _skinning_ it and cutting its flesh up. It ran back in fear and told the others what had happened. The sudden betrayal would change history forever.

"Lazerik, part of Thunduro's bloodline, was furious! After all these years, the humans had betrayed them. So they prepared for battle. The humans were unaware of what was going on, but they were going to pay greatly for what they had done. After a week of preparations, the thunder lizards attacked. The humans were surprised, but fought anyways. This war, known as Thundering War, existed far more longer than the arachnoids' war and the hellhounds' war. This went on for 35 years! Both sides fought hard, but naturally the thunder lizards were winning. The humans left the lizard's homeland and went to find another place to live. Millions of humans, maybe even billions, were killed in this war alone. But a few humans stayed behind for they weren't going to give up that easily. The thunder lizards were happy about their victory. They celebrated their victory but as they did, the remaining 15 humans devised a plan for revenge. A few days later, the leader was found dead. This made the thunder lizards very angry. Lazerik's heir was the one to take his place. His heir was a female by the name of Tikera. Well…anyways, she ordered a search for the killers. The thunder lizards found the last humans and kept them captive. To give them a final lesson, the thunder lizards literally tore them to pieces. So basically they would literally tear the flesh off piece by painful piece while they were alive. It kinda reminds you of the infamous Vlad the Impaler a.k.a 'Dracula.' I mean, he did basically torture people. Anyhow, soon after, the peaceful thunder lizards were corrupted by all this violence. They were pleased to get their vengeance and they hated the humans even more. They were basically killing any humans they encountered, young and old. Eventually the humans returned and the thunder lizards continued causing havoc. But Tikera ordered them to go underground. She didn't want them to be bloodthirsty. She moved them to an underground cave. Since then, they've adapted to living underground and they've stayed there, away from civilization. But they're still not their same old selves. Generations to generation have become emperor or empress of the thunder lizards. Century to century, they've tried to become peaceful again. But they have failed to change their violent personality.

"The thunder lizards have become more ferocious. Their eyes were originally red, but now the madder they get, the darker it becomes. Though the eyes become darker red, when they go berserk, their eyes will become a glowing white. And when they're angry, they become extremely powerful. They become totally out of control and merciless. Someone, most likely the same one we've been trying to find out about, has made them even more vicious and has released them. But we can't kill them. We have to get them to become the peaceful race they once were. They could also prove to be powerful allies when we fight this guy."

"Wow. That was much longer than the others," Jessica noted.

"So how are we supposed to find them?" Caitlin asked.

"Easy," Melissa simply replied.

"Well apparently they're not all that easy to fight," Ashley reminded her.

"No! I mean we have to set a trap," Melissa said. "Thunder lizards love electricity. They're attracted by it. We need to set an electric trap to lure them to us. You people need to study monsters more. Anyway, if we kill one, we have to do the same thing we did to that one Crypt Fiend unless we can catch one and get it to talk."

"Ok. So let's do it later k?" Gloria asked.

"Ok," Melissa, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica agreed.

* * *

Once again, Ation was watching the screen. "Darn it! They've already figured how to lure them over," he said. He was using some kind of spell to secretly spy on them.

"Maybe you shouldn't have made it so damn obvious. You should've known about that girl Melissa. You should've chosen something else," Abby explained.

"Who asked for your opinion?" Ation asked.

He turned his back on her. Abby mocked him in a stupider way. Ation felt something on his pants. He looked down to see a rat. "What the?" he said.

He brushed it off with his hand. The rat fell on the floor and started running away. Ation got up from his chair and was going to step on it when Abby pushed him really hard, knocking him down. She picked up the small rat and yelled, "Don't you dare hurt Lizzy!"

"Lizzy? You've named that stupid thing?" Ation asked.

"Her name is Elizabeth. But I call her Lizzy and sometimes, but rarely, Liz. You've got a problem with that?" Abby growled.

"Yes I do," Ation answered. "You're a servant. You know you can't have any pets! Gimme that!"

He snatched the rat, placed her on the floor, held her tail and was about to step on Lizzy again when Abby cried, "No!" She grabbed him by the neck and started choking him. She dropped him to the floor and did a body slam. Ation couldn't breathe but Abby body slammed him again, not caring if he could breathe. Then she picked up Lizzy and held her close.

Ation got up and was still gasping for air. "Don't ever touch Lizzy again!" Abby shouted, "or I'll rip your goddamn balls off with my bare hands, goddamn it!

She left with Lizzy and went to her room, or more like cell. Ation was going to say something, but fell on the floor. He was still gasping for air.


	15. Bad Introduction

Chapter 14: Bad Introduction

**A/N**:Didn't say this before,but I don't own D&D (used one of the dragons for this chapter) and I also don't own Resident Evil, both games and movies (useda part of the first RE movie). Thank you and enjoy

* * *

"Is it set?" Melissa asked. 

"Should work," Gloria answered. "Turn it on!"

Caitlin pressed the switch. Blue, red, and yellow electricity appeared on the newly built machine. Four machines were on the side. First, it'd be a line of blue plasma in the middle of it. Then another plasma line would appear on the top and the last would be on the bottom. The three lines would combine to create a deadly plasma net. "So exactly how is this supposed to help us?" Ashley asked.

"The plasma lines and the net will cut through the thunder lizards. But this will only work temporarily," Melissa clarified. "But of course, two more will stop them."

"What other ones are there?" questioned Gloria.

"What do the others do?" asked Jessica.

"Well, I'll show you the rest, but just to let you know, whatever remains, we'll have to fight," Melissa said.

"But there might be thousands left," Ashley said. "We've already told you that they're hard to fight."

"Don't you think I know that!" Melissa shouted angrily. "It's highly unlikely that _all_ of them would come to fight us. I'd predict about 5 or less will survive the traps based on the amount that _should_ die from each trap. But if none survive, we need to keep the head of one of them."

"You act as if you're a scientist," Caitlin commented. "You know-it-all."

"Goddamn it! I'm not a fucking know-it-all!" Melissa exclaimed.

"More like genius," Jessica added.

Melissa groaned. "C'mon you guys! We've got a job to do," Gloria reminded them.

Melissa told them about the next two traps. They just needed to do a little more work on it and test it to make sure it would work, even if the traps weren't machines. The second trap was a massive and wide pit hole with crystals that had sharp points. The hole was probably 30 ft deep. The entire floor was covered in thousands or even millions of large, long, pointed crimson crystals.

The last one involved the cliff they were on. The very tip of it would break off, thanks to Jessica's power, and levitate. The thunder lizards would then fall to their deaths. "Are we ready?" Jessica asked.

"We sure are," said Gloria.

Melissa held her hands out and the blue, red, and yellow electricity gathered around her arms. She shot it at the sky. Then out of the blue, thunder clouds appeared and lighting struck the sky. "This should lure more thunder lizards to us," Melissa noted. "All we have to do is wait."

* * *

5 hours later…

* * *

"Speed," Caitlin said lazily.

"Let's play something else," Jessica said. "We've been playing for two hours. Mel, I thought you said that they'll be here in an hour."

"They should," Melissa said.

"You've said that 5 times already! I wanna go home NOW!" Caitlin whined.

"I'm sorry guys," Melissa apologized. "I guess we didn't make the storm strong and long enough. I mean, it only lasted for an hour."

"And they were supposed to come in an hour," Jessica said.

Gloria and Ashley were lying beside each other, sleeping peacefully. Jessica woke them up and told them what had happened. "So we stayed here for 5 hours straight…for nothing!" Gloria yelled. Melissa avoided eye contact with the others. Not only was she upset about them not coming, she was angry about how she could do such a stupid mistake like that. She, along with the others, walked maybe a few inches when they felt the ground rumble like an oncoming stampede. They looked in front of them and saw a cloud of dust. "That's not good, is it?" Gloria asked.

"No," Melissa replied.

They could all see a blue wave advancing towards them at a high rate. "We'd better get moving now!" Gloria cried.

"Why?" Caitlin asked.

"Just shut up and get in your positions! The thunder lizards are here!" Melissa cried.

* * *

A tall boy with blue jeans and a black shirt with a blue dragon on it stood on a big rock that overlooked a large cliff where he could see a huge group of blue creatures running towards five girls that were heading towards a machine, a huge pit hole, and the tip of the cliff. "I have to save them," the boy said.

He transformed from a male with dark brown hair, light skin and matching eyes into a black dragon. He had deep-socket eyes and broad nasal openings, making his face look like a skull. He had segmented horns that pointed forward and down, protruding teeth, and big spikes jutted out on his lower jaw. He also had frills down his neck. He spread his wings and headed to where the battle was about to begin.

* * *

"Get ready people!" Gloria announced.

"We need to go to the cliff and wait there until the thunder lizards reach us!" Melissa yelled.

They headed quickly towards the cliff and Jessica got her power ready so that by the time the thunder lizards reached them, she would be able to tear the tip off. The thunder lizards started getting closer, in spite of their weight and size. "Are you sure this trap will work?" Jessica asked.

"Well, all I can say is hopefully," Melissa said, sounding a bit unsure.

The first few thunder lizards stepped into the first trap, which was activated. The four machines, which ran on electricity provided by the electricity stored inside them, glowed with blue light and a single plasma line appeared in the middle. The plasma line had appeared at the fourth machine and now headed towards the approaching thunder lizards. The plasma beam went through the first few thunder lizards like they were ghosts. The beam soon disappeared and blood leaked from the place where the beam had gone through. Then the top of their bodies fell to the ground. Their entrails also spilled to the ground, along with a stream of blood. Melissa, Ashley, and Gloria were in flight with Jessica and Caitlin on the dragon's back, watching the trap give the thunder lizards their last gruesome moment. "Doesn't plasma burn rather than cut?" Gloria asked.

"True, but this type of plasma is more advanced than ordinary plasma. This one is made of different energy that slices through things," Jessica clarified.

A few more thunder lizards entered the trap and looked at their dead allies. They roared in anger and headed towards Gloria, Jessica, Ashley, Melissa, and Caitlin. "3…2…1," they counted down.

At that moment, a second laser beam appeared on the top. This time after it disappeared, the thunder lizards heads fell off. Blood squirted from the necks. The headless bodies fell to the ground and sort of twitched. More angry thunder lizards stepped into the trap, ready to gain vengeance. "They're not too bright, huh?" Caitlin observed.

"They are extremely intelligent, but since they want to gain vengeance on us, they don't watch their surroundings. And they also think the trap is no longer working," Melissa explained.

The third plasma beam appeared on the bottom, slicing off the thunder lizards' feet. They fell on their stomachs and died rapidly from loss of blood. A lot more entered, angrier than before. Their eyes were a very dark red. Two more plasma beams emerged from the machines on the top and bottom. Then they came together to create a net. It went through the lizards and finally disappeared. The lizards were sliced like all the others, but this time they were in little pieces. After the trap's final attack, Gloria, Caitlin, Jessica, Ashley, and Melissa could see the devastating results. The ground was littered with body parts, entrails, and soaked in blood. The thunder lizards continued on with their march for revenge. Though the first trap was finally over, they still had the second trap to survive. Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Melissa, and Jessica were still in the air. The thunder lizards still ran towards them but suddenly they started falling into the pit hole. The first few were impaled by the large crystals. The crystals were long enough to kill five at a time.

Despite more of their comrades dying, the thunder lizards still came. More were impaled with the crystals as they continued. To get across, some of them had to step on the bodies of their allies, using them as a bridge to the other side, even if it did cause even more pain. Despite the fact that thousands of them came, only several hundred thunder lizards were left after surviving the second deadly trap. They were headed towards Gloria and the others, who were now on the ground, but when they were only a few inches away, Jessica held her hands out and dark energy surrounded her hands. A crack zigzagged its way from one end to the other, much like a lightning bolt, and the tip of the cliff broke off. The thunder lizards fell off the cliff, all the way down to their deaths. Surprisingly, only one had survived the huge massacre planned by the girls. Jessica and the others landed on the ground and stood in front of the last remaining thunder lizard. All five of them ganged up on the lone lizard. "Alright, I surrender!" the lizard announced.

"Then come with us," Caitlin said.

But before it could even lift a foot, a black dragon landed on top of it, instantly squashing it. The dragon roared in triumph and lifted its foot. The thunder lizard was as flat as a pancake. The dragon became a human with short brown hair, matching eyes, and light skin. "Are you guys all right?" he asked.

"All right? All right! You goddamn idiot! You ruined our only chance of finding out who did this!" Melissa roared in rage.

She backslapped the man as hard as she could. He fell to the ground and covered his right cheek with his hand. It was completely red. "Mel, calm down!" Ashley ordered.

"Why should I?" Melissa hissed. "This guy made this mystery even harder for us to be able to solve. That stupid asshole has messed this up! I could just kill you!"

"We can use the head of the lizards to figure this out!" Gloria reminded.

"But actually _listening_ to a thunder lizard would've made our jobs easier! But this dumbass had to ruin it!" Rage flared in Melissa's eyes. "I will kill you!"

Melissa quickly transformed into an enraged silver dragon, her eyes glowing like molten orbs. She opened her jaws and fired a ball of fire at the young man. He evaded it and turned back into a dragon. He faced Melissa and pleaded, "I'm sorry! Please, I don't want to fight. I'm Craig and I was just here to help."

"Sorry? Sorry? It's a bit too late for that!" Melissa snarled, revealing her teeth. She raised her hand and slashed Craig's neck. Craig roared in pain and whipped Melissa with his tail. It took her by surprise but she didn't even flinch. "My scales are far more harder than yours. My tough hide can withstand your pathetic attack!" she yelled, laughing in amusement.

She suddenly sank her teeth into Craig's unprotected throat. He let out a painful roar and tried to get her off. But the more he struggled, the more tighter Melissa's jaws were on his neck. She let go a while later and slashed Craig's eye. He roared in agony. _This girl is as fast as a lightning bolt, _he thought. _I barely have time to react!_

Suddenly he could feel excruciating pain. He then realized that Melissa had fired a beam of blue electricity. Melissa was about to shoot a stream of fire when Craig head butted her. She hit the ground hard, rocking the earth.

His neck was bleeding freely now, sucking the energy out of him bit by agonizing bit. He placed his hand on his gash and tried to slow the blood down. But he didn't have the time. Melissa roared loudly in rage and wrapped her tail around Craig's leg. The huge spikes and the small blades on her tail stabbed him. Craig roared again and Melissa backed off, letting go of his leg. She lowered her head and snorted loudly. She charged at Craig's unprotected chest and gored him with her horn. Craig tried to get her off by grabbing Melissa's neck. But he couldn't pull her out. He started to tighten his grip on Melissa's neck; therefore, causing him to puncture her scales. Blood started to trickle down her neck, but there weren't any signs that she was going to remove her horn. "I'll show you some real pain!" she declared.

Then without warning, her horn still in his chest, she twisted her head in a semicircle. Craig screamed in unbearable agony at the top of his lungs. Melissa finally removed her horn. Craig's warm blood dripped from her blood stained horn and trickled down the side of her face, reaching her opened mouth. Craig's face was contorted with much pain. He clenched his teeth tightly.

Melissa pushed him down hard with her body. He landed on his side. Then Melissa did the unthinkable. She sank her teeth into Craig's throat again, held his neck in her jaws, and started _thrashing _her head from side to side like a hunger-struck animal. Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, and Caitlin watched in shock as Melissa's teeth started to literally rip Craig's throat apart. Craig started roaring but could no longer roar, let alone breathe, as Melissa got even rougher. "We have to do something!" Caitlin yelled.

"But what? We can't fight Melissa!" Ashley cried.

"We leave her alone!" Jessica declared.

Gloria, Ashley, and Caitlin stared at her with disbelief. "Are you nuts? She'll kill Craig!" Ashley exclaimed.

"She's on a rampage ok? I hate him just as much as Melissa does, even if we don't know him that much. And I know you guys do too. Besides, you guys probably wouldn't want others to interfere if you were on a rampage. I know that I wouldn't and neither would Gloria. We all get even angrier when someone interferes. Melissa will kill us if we even dare to stand in her way! You know that she basically has no control of herself when she's angry! She needs time to calm down and until she does, we shouldn't interfere!" Jessica bellowed.

Ashley, Gloria, and Caitlin were wordless. They had never seen Jessica this mad before. "I'm sorry for yelling. But at times you need to release your anger too. That is what Melissa is doing. And if Craig dies, he dies! Who cares? He did make our mission more difficult. We leave Melissa alone. She'll eventually calm down!"

"She's right. We have to release our anger like Melissa, even though her method to release her anger is quite well…bloody and violent. Only if she gets way out of control will we try to stop her. Agreed?" Gloria said.

"Fine," everyone answered.

Ashley, Jessica, Gloria, and Caitlin turned their attention back to the fight and couldn't believe their eyes. Melissa had long since let go of Craig's throat, but now she was right by him, blood dripping from her teeth and jaws. Craig was still on his side and a pool of blood surrounded him. He seemed to be struggling for air and could barely breathe. He had huge gashes on his neck where Melissa had held him with her jaws.

Melissa wasn't finished. She grabbed his wing membrane and tore it to pieces with her jaws. Melissa snorted again and held his tail tightly in her mouth. She threw him against a cliff with all her might. He crashed into it on his back, and fell to ground. Melissa walked up to him and cried, "Now it's time to die!"

She opened her jaws and was about to bite Craig's head to crush his skull when Gloria yelled, "STOP!" Melissa stopped and closed her mouth half-way. She stared at Gloria with vengeful eyes. Gloria stood in front of Craig. "Look Melissa, I know you're mad, but you've totally lost it! We may all hate him for what he did, but we're going to need him. We'll see if he can help us find this guy. Afterwards, you can do what you wish. For now you let him live, you got it? Just please calm down," she argued.

Melissa looked into Gloria's eyes. Her rage was diminishing and her eyes were returning to normal. Her breathing slowed down, her tail stopped lashing around in anger, and her jaws slowly closed, her curled lips concealing her teeth. She became nonviolent in a few moments. Gloria smiled and whispered, "Atta girl," loud enough for her to hear. Her friend returned to her human form.

"Thanks G. That's all I needed," said Melissa with a smile.

"You know that I won't allow any of my friends to become a bloodthirsty killer," Gloria stated.

Melissa half-smiled, but it was soon wiped from her face. "Well if you guys are bringing him to the lab, then tell him this when he wakes up. Tell him to stay the fuck away from me or I **will** kill that goddamn bastard! And I won't show any mercy whatsoever!" she growled angrily.

"Then you have my word," Gloria said.

Melissa passed Gloria, her shoulder brushing hard against Gloria's, and returned to her dragon form. She flew away, leaving her friends behind. Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica ran up to Gloria. "Hey G, why did you want Craig to live?" Caitlin questioned.

"I'm not as ruthless as Melissa. Besides, the guy could help," Gloria responded.

Jessica used her healing spell and together, Ashley and Gloria used their psychic powers to get him to turn back. Jessica raised a large rock covered in dark energy from the ground. Then she directed it to Melissa's house and went inside the underground cave.


	16. A Secret Discovered

Chapter 15: A Secret Discovered

**A/N:** Once again, I don't own Finding Nemo, which is where a part of this chapter comes from, which you will know what I mean when you get there.

* * *

"Ugh, what happened?" Craig asked, drool trickling down from the corner of his mouth. 

"Hey shut up! We have to talk," Ashley ordered.

She saw Melissa leaning against a wall, not looking at Craig but not looking at anybody either. Her arms were crossed and she was still infuriated by Craig's arrival. "Hey G, should we call Duke? Talking to him might help," Ashley suggested.

"Ok. Then call him," said Gloria. "Tell him that Melissa got into a fight with someone."

"Gotcha," Ashley said.

"Hey why can't I talk? I want to know what the hell I'm doing here," Craig said.

Gloria was about to say something when Melissa stomped up to Craig. His eyes were struck with fear. Melissa glared at him and, raising her voice, bellowed, "If you don't shut your damn mouth, I'll kick your ass! You'd better do as we say you goddamn bastard or else!"

Craig was about to say something when Melissa stopped him. She slapped him hard across the face and was about to do more when Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica stopped her. It took all four of them to stop her. She struggled to get free, but she was overpowered. They finally got her outside the room they were in and left Gloria alone with her. "Melissa, what the hell is wrong with you? I told you to leave him alone!" Gloria demanded.

"That bastard's just asking for it! Why should I let him live? He's just going to cause us trouble!" Melissa shouted.

"Don't you fucking get it? We need him to see if he knows the one who's doing this! He might be able to help us finish this!"

"I don't want that guy in my sight! If he's helping us, then you can forget about me helping you!"

"Melissa, just work with this guy until we're finished! After this, I will never do something that'll anger you again."

"Hmph, I've heard that lie before."

The last thing Gloria saw was Melissa's rage filled eyes before she angrily walked away. Gloria sighed and thought about what Melissa had said. It was true that she had told Melissa this before on other personal issues but she had broken her promise. Although Melissa got mad for nearly anything, she truly despised people, especially her friends, doing things like breaking their promises or doing something that she specifically said to no longer do. But if she could find a way to—

"Gloria!" someone called out.

Gloria's thoughts were interrupted by Caitlin. She shut off her thinking and went inside the room again. "Look G, you wanted us to question him. But he won't answer!" Caitlin complained.

"Is that so?" Gloria scowled.

"What are you going to do about it? Slap me to death?" Craig sneered with an aggravating smile. Gloria just wanted to wipe that goddamn smile off his face. As much as she wanted to hurt him, she controlled herself.

"You answer our frickin' questions or I'll go pirate on you!" Caitlin threatened.

Gloria arched a brow. "Anyways," she said. "If you decide not to answer our questions then I will bring in your worst nightmare."

Craig was silent. Gloria could sense his fear and smiled in victory. "Now...are you going to answer our questions?" she asked.

Craig nodded. "If you have any more trouble, just call me," Gloria said.

"Okaydokey!" Caitlin said.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Jessica questioned.

"I have work to do," Gloria replied.

She left the room without hesitation. Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica questioned Craig about his powers, when he got them, and stuff like that. Craig answered each and every one of them without giving them trouble. Gloria came back and Caitlin, Jessica, and Ashley filled her in on what they had learned. Gloria nodded in reply and said, "First you need to apologize to Melissa."

"What!" Craig hollered.

"You've got her pissed off, so you're gonna fix it."

"But she'll kill me! Even though I do feel bad for what I did."

"You should. But I'll give you a break. You have to apologize before Mel rests, got that?"

"Yes," Craig answered.

"One question," Gloria said. "Would you want to join our team?"

Ashley skipped a breath. Caitlin and Jessica were shocked. So was Craig. "Can we talk to you G?" Jessica asked. She and the others took her to another room to talk alone. "G, what are you doing?" Ashley asked.

"I'm adding him to the team. He might prove to be a good ally. I know all you guys hate him, but let's give him a chance," Gloria explained.

"Melissa's not going to like this," Ashley mentioned.

"And didn't you say once we're done with him, she can do what she wants with him?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes but I decided to change it to after this battle. And I know Melissa won't like this. But we'll have to try to convince her," Gloria retorted.

* * *

"So exactly what happened?" Duke asked.

"I can't say," Melissa replied.

Duke and Melissa were in her room, sitting at the edge of her bed. Duke had placed his arm around her shoulder. "Why not?" Duke asked.

Melissa had to think of something. Thanks to her friends, they told him that she got in a fight and now he wanted to know exactly how it happened. Now she had to find a way to explain what happened without telling him what really happened. "Melissa...is there something you're not telling me?" Duke asked.

Melissa had already made a mistake. She had been silent for too long, making Duke a bit suspicious. When she looked into his eyes, she soon knew that he wasn't going to fall for any more lies. "I want the truth Melissa," he demanded.

Melissa sighed and got up. Duke was about to get up as well but she placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down. "Just listen. I'm not who you think I am," she said.

Duke raised a brow. "So...you're not Melissa?" he asked, puzzled.

"No! I mean, I'm not...human," Melissa said.

Melissa was trying to hold back tears. It was going to be hard to tell him the truth but she had no choice. She had lied to him long enough. "What do you mean?" Duke wondered.

He rose from the bed and headed towards her. This time Melissa didn't get him to sit down again. She had been silent for while but she finally got the courage to say what she had to say. She turned around and in a soft voice admitted to him, "I-I have...dragon blood in me. I'm more dragon than human."

Duke stared at her in shock. He took a few steps back, but stopped when Melissa started shedding tears. He knew he had made a mistake by doing that. She knew he would do something like that. Anyone would naturally fear someone who's part dragon. In a trembling voice, she explained to him the truth. "I've kept it a secret for a long time because I thought you'd hate me if I told you. I didn't know how you were going to react."

Duke walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You should know that I love you for who you are, not because of what you are," he explained.

"So you're ok with that?" said Melissa, quite surprised.

"Well…I wouldn't say that. Just need time. But even so, I wouldn't hate you. I mean c'mon! Why would you think that?"

"Because I am a monster inside. I'm human outside, but the real me is a real dragon. I didn't think you'd like me because of that." Melissa started wiping her tears away and began to relax again.

"I become friends with people by who they are, not what they are. So even if you can transform into—into a dragon or even if you have dragon blood in you, I'll still love you. Yeah…it'll take time for me to get used to it. But don't worry."

Duke looked at her with a smile and embraced her tightly. Melissa did the same. _Maybe I should tell him about the others. He knows about my secret. Why shouldn't he know of the others?_

"Duke I have more to tell you," she claimed, her head against his chest. She could hear his rumbling voice as he asked, "And what is that?"

She gently pushed her head off him and, looking up at him, said, "I'm not the only one."

"You're kidding," Duke smiled, chuckling a bit.

Melissa knew that he probably wouldn't believe that her friends were not completely human. Knowing someone who's really a dragon seemed to be enough for him, which explains him laughing a bit. "I'm not kidding," Melissa said, not mad, but not very happy either.

Duke's smiled disappeared from his face. "What?" his brow raised yet again and he gawked at her with wide opened eyes.

"Gloria, Caitlin, Jessica, and Ashley are also…different."

Duke's mouth was open a little and just stayed that way. But Melissa didn't wait for him to say anything. "Gloria and Ashley are vampires, Caitlin is a pirate, and Jessica is a witch. I'm the only dragon," she clarified.

"This has to be a dream. First I learn that you're a dragon and now my own friends? This world has gone mad! Somebody pinch me!" Duke cried. He started to freak.

Melissa had long since stopped crying. But now she was laughing a bit herself. She pinched his arm hard. Duke yelped in pain and demanded, "What was that for?"

"You said 'Somebody pinch me!' and I'm the only one here. Besides, I wanted to let you know that this is not a dream," Melissa explained with a smile.

"Mel, you have to be kidding me!" Duke yelled, shaking her by the shoulders.

Melissa grabbed his arms and got him to stop. "Duke, I'm not kidding. If you don't believe me, I can first show you that I really am a dragon and the others will have to prove themselves later."

She put her right arm in front of him. Her skin started _changing_! Glossy silver scales that shined like polished metal appeared. Muscles didn't appear like a dragon, but her hands changed into that of one. She even grew the long curved, sharp golden claws.

Duke stared in open-mouthed wonder and surprise. He stared at her arm. He gently placed his hand on her arm and felt the scales and the claws. He now believed that Melissa could really become a dragon. Melissa started turning back to normal. "You really _can_ turn into a dragon," Duke said. He smiled again and added, "It's not everyday you're told that the person you love isn't really human."

"I know," she said, smiling. "C'mon! We need to go back to the lab. Then I can show you everyone's true self."

Duke cocked a brow again. "You—you have a lab?" he stuttered.

"Yep, along with a training area, examination room, and more," Melissa continued.

Duke's eyes went wide with interest. Although Melissa told him about her secret, about everyone else, and their underground lab, she didn't tell him about what they were doing now. She knew he would go into a worrying frenzy. She took Duke outside and opened the secret passage, which _was_ no longer a secret, to the lab. "Duke before we go in, you have to promise that you will tell no one of what you will see behind this door. You mustn't tell anybody of this lab or my powers or anybody else's. Promise me," explained Melissa.

"You have my word," Duke said.

They went inside and Duke couldn't believe his eyes. Despite the dim light coming from the ceiling lights, which were starting to come on, he could see pictures on the wall, incised by a sharp object; pictures of monsters of different kinds and of elements. Together, they walked down a rocky corridor, which eventually became a corridor with walls covered in sapphire tiles, and saw lights go on as they continued. "So…where does this lead to?" Duke asked.

"It leads to the lab I told you about," Melissa replied, "which reminds me, I never told you why I was very pissed."

Melissa explained the incident that happened between her and Craig. But she had to lie about the real cause. Then when they reached the center of the underground lab, Melissa showed him around but made sure that they both kept their voices down. She didn't want Gloria and the others to know that they were there. Then someone with short brown hair and a black shirt with blue jeans walked towards them. Duke eyed him suspiciously. But Melissa didn't have the same expression. "What the hell do you want?" Melissa demanded with glaring eyes. "And I'm pretty sure that Gloria told you to stay away from me."

"Yeah well, I wanted to…apologize about what happened with the—" Craig started out when he suddenly stopped. He looked behind Melissa and Duke. They both stared at him with puzzled looks.

Gloria was behind both of them to make sure Craig said what she told him to say. But there was a problem. A very big problem. She didn't know about what Melissa had done, so she was quite surprised about Duke being here. She didn't even know how he got here. She used her hand and "sliced" her throat, the sign to stop Craig from saying anything about the thunder lizards. "Um…the fight. The fight about—about…which one of us was stronger. I'm very sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Duke raised an eyebrow and looked at Melissa. _She never told me that it was about who was more powerful. She said that Craig appeared from nowhere and attacked them. _"Why should I? You know that we didn't fight to decide who was more powerful. We—we fought because you came from nowhere and attacked us," Melissa said angrily. She still stuck with what she told Duke before.

Craig didn't seem to get it, but eventually he went along with it. "And there is no damn way I will forgive you, you goddamn bastard!" Melissa continued.

"Please Melissa! Why can't you forgive me?"

"Because we wouldn't be here wasting time! We would've been done with our mission! But no! You ruined our plans! You know damn well that you did! And you expect me to forgive you? Forget it!"

Melissa walked away, furious once again. Duke stared at her, very concerned. Craig turned to Duke and asked, "Can't you talk to her?"

A concerned and confused Duke answered, "Why should I even talk to her? You did a wrong thing. You can't expect her to forgive you now." Craig lowered his head in disappointment. "BUT…I know she isn't being fair. So I'll try, kid. But this doesn't mean we're friends. Just know that I hate people who anger Melissa or any of her friends and anybody who does it will have to go through me."

He walked away and ran to catch up to Melissa. Gloria and the others walked to Craig. "How the hell does Duke know about this lab?" Ashley asked.

"And more importantly, how did he know about what really happened?" Gloria asked.

"But it didn't seem like he _knew_ about the real cause. And remember, he was told that Craig came from nowhere and attacked. Yeah, that's basically what happened, but he doesn't know about the thunder lizards," Caitlin mentioned.

"Yeah, Caitlin's right. He seemed more _confused_, like he didn't know about what really happened or why," Jessica added. "Is it possible that he knows of our secrets? I mean if he knows of the lab, then he presumably knows about us."

"We have to have a talk with Melissa," Gloria said, giving them an angry expression.

* * *

"Hey Mel, I need to talk to you," Duke said.

"What is it? If it's about Craig, then forget it!" Melissa returned.

Duke stopped. _How am I supposed to talk to her without getting her mad?_ He also wanted to know about the mission Melissa had mentioned a few times. But if talking about Craig was going to make her angry, why ask about a mission that shouldn't be any of his business? He was about to go after her again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "We need to have a private talk with Melissa," Gloria said.

Duke nodded and swallowed nervously. Gloria seemed angry and he didn't know if she was angry about him being here. Plus, he didn't know if Gloria and Melissa would get in a severe fight. For at times, they did. But he left it at that. He leaned against a wall, arms crossed across his chest, and waited.

* * *

Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica passed him and ran to catch up with Gloria, who was also trying to catch up with Melissa. When they finally reached her, they pushed her into a room.

They all sat down and Gloria asked, "Melissa, how does Duke know about the lab?"

"Umm…I don't know. Hmm…let's see, what's the answer I'm looking for? Oh yes, now I know. Maybe it was because…I TOLD HIM!" Melissa shouted with sarcasm in her voice.

"Yeah, we know that," Gloria said. "We already figured that, Melissa. But why the hell did you tell him! He could tell other people and the government might go after us! We swore to keep our real identity as a secret. But no! You, being the stupid one, decides to tell Duke about it! Who knows what the hell he can do! Now we have to be more careful, now we still have to learn more about this black , and now we have to do something with Craig! Now you've made everything more complicated! How can you-"

"Maybe I had good reason!" Melissa interrupted, getting up. "You're calling me an idiot! You people have to think common sense! Eventually the people we love are going to find out!" Melissa's voice became softer but a little shaky. "It's like what they always say. Nothing lasts forever! And that includes secrets. Maybe some secrets do last forever, but most don't! We're not going to be able to hide our powers forever! Eventually there's going to be a time when we're forced to use our powers in public! In time, we have to tell the people we love and risk getting ourselves killed. We have to tell Leon, James, Johnny, and Orlando. How can you say that Duke will tell people about this? We all trust James, Johnny, Leon, Orlando, and Duke. It's not like we haven't told our boyfriends our secrets before. They haven't told anyone our secrets. Duke doesn't hate me and I know he won't tell anybody. We trust him like everyone else and like everyone else, he trusts in us. Guys, I know what you're afraid of and I know that you're afraid that they'll hate you. But that isn't going to happen. I know it. Why would they hate us just because of our powers when Duke and the others love us and chose us over everyone else? I know we can trust them. We HAVE to tell them. Eventually our family and other friends will find out that something weird is going on and will want to know. Eventually we have to tell them! It's better to have them know now than later. Who knows what'll happen if they learn later on. Yeah…they may think we're crazy at first but we have to tell them sooner or later, but either way, they're going to find out."

Everyone was speechless. Silence settled in the room for a long while. Then Jessica shattered the silence and agreed with her. "Melissa's right. We can't hide like this forever. Sooner or later there is going to be a time when we have to change in public to fight and protect the city! So we have to tell Leon, James, Johnny, and Orlando at least. We may not know how they're going to react, but we can at least let them know."

"Alright guys, let's talk about the other thing. Keep that in mind though. Just think about what Melissa and Jessica said. Anyway, I too have something to say. You may not like this Melissa," Gloria said with a sigh. "I—I asked Craig to…join the team."

Melissa's mouth hung open. It seemed like her right eye was twitching as well. "You WHAT!" she roared.

"She knows you don't like him but give him a chance. He could prove to be a powerful ally, even though you're like…100 times more powerful than he is. But still, you've got to give him a chance," Ashley uttered.

Melissa looked at her with the snake eyes. Gloria knew that that meant that she wasn't going to allow it. "I'll tell you what," Gloria said. "If Craig gets on your nerves a lot, then you will do as you wish with him and we'll remove him from the team. And if he doesn't, he'll remain a _temporary_ team member. Deal?"

Melissa looked at her with her arms crossed. After a minute or two, she finally agreed, "Fine." Gloria and Melissa shook hands, which meant the deal was on. "Alright Melissa, now that we've got that settled, let's go home," Gloria said. She, Ashley, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa got up and exited the room. "Gloria, tell Duke and Craig to come in here. And think about what I said," Melissa said.

Gloria smiled and nodded. Duke and Craig entered soon after. Craig hid behind Duke. He grabbed Craig by the shoulder and pulled him out. They all sat down. "Ok, Craig. We have to do some talking," Melissa explained.

Craig was nervous. He was already sweating and had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Melissa smiled at him. He was just staring at her wondering why she was smiling. "And no, it doesn't have anything to do with hurting you anymore," Melissa stated.

Duke smiled, pleased that Melissa was going to be fair. "It doesn't?" Craig asked.

"No. Gloria and the others convinced me to give you chance. And I'm going to give you a chance. I want to get to know you first," she explained. "So that's what we're going to talk about."

"Ok," Craig said, more calm.

Duke, Melissa, and Craig spent the rest of the day talking about each other and the powers the two possessed. But they did not discuss anything about the thunder lizards or the conflict taking place.

* * *

2 days later…

* * *

Leon was heading to Jessica's house because she needed to talk to him about something. Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, and Caitlin were in her room, just talking. Earlier that afternoon, Jessica had called Melissa to tell her that she wanted everyone to come over because she was ready to do as Melissa said. She was ready to tell her secret. And she need all of them just in case she needed back-up and for support.

Jessica answered the door when Leon arrived. She kissed him hello and he did the same. Leon and Jessica then sat down in the family room. Leon, arms crossed, asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Ok…I need to tell you something that I've kept to myself for a long time," Jessica returned. She sighed and was silent for a few seconds.

"Jessica? Are you ok?" questioned Leon.

"Leon, I'm really…a witch," muttered Jessica, getting straight to the point.

Leon just stared at her with a raised brow. He then started laughing. Jessica knew that she would have to do better than that. _I'll have to do a spell to prove it to him, _she thought.

Leon finally stopped laughing and said, "I'm sorry Jessica but I thought you said you were a witch."

It looked like he was going to laugh again if she said that she was again. He was still laughing a little. _Jeez, he reminds me of Gloria and Melissa, _Jessica thought. "Yes I am and if you don't believe me, I'll show you," she stated.

"Whatever," Leon said with a smile. He whipped his head around when he thought he had heard something, but didn't see anything. Under her breath, Jessica quickly said, "Deloi phoi." Leon turned back around and said, "I knew you were lying."

But he didn't see Jessica. This time he saw a gray cat with black stripes. "What the?" Leon said baffled by the sudden appearance of the cat and the disappearance of Jessica. He raised a brow again and had a puzzled expression on his face.

The cat suddenly started hissing and jumped on to his arm. "Ahhh!" Leon yelled. He started screaming like a little girl being chased by a dog!

* * *

Ashley, Gloria, Caitlin, and Melissa could hear what the two were saying because they were loud. They tried hard not to laugh but they couldn't help it. They laughed but not loudly.

* * *

Back downstairs, Leon was still trying to get the cat off. The cat finally jumped off, but not without scratching him. After a few seconds, the cat changed into Jessica. Leon stared at her with wide eyes and a hanging mouth. "How did you—how can you—when did you—how the HELL did you become a cat!" he stumbled.

Jessica came up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She then said, "I told you I'm a witch. Do you believe me now? Because I have more powers to show you if you don't."

"Well, did you have to scratch me?" Leon asked, lifting his bleeding arm. He lifted his arm to show Jessica the deep claw marks. But it wasn't gushing blood so it wasn't something to worry about.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Jessica apologized. "Hold on."

"No, I can wait. Do it again, but this time don't hurt me."

"Ok. Moi stern!"

Out of nowhere, something long and slender appeared from the floor. But it was completely made of pure rock. Once it was out of the ground, it wrapped its rocky body loosely around Jessica. Then a long forked tongue came from the rocky thing. Leon stood there amazed and confused at the same time. "This is a snake made of rock, obviously. I used a spell to summon it to do my bidding," Jessica clarified.

The snake came up to Leon and hissed in his face. Leon tried to stay away, afraid that the snake would hurt him. But it turned around and slithered back into the ground. "Now do you believe me?" Jessica asked, raising her own eyebrow with a smile. Leon nodded, still holding his arm. "I never did believe in that witchcraft crap," he admitted. "What other spells do you know?"

"Um…hold on a sec will ya?" Jessica asked.

She ran upstairs to her room. Melissa, Caitlin, Gloria, and Ashley were half-asleep. "Sorry guys," Jessica whispered. "But I'm almost up to where I will tell Leon of your guys' secrets."

"So can I call Duke?" Melissa asked in a soft voice.

"Why?"

"Because if we're going to prove to Leon that we are what we say we are, we might as well show Duke now. Although he believes me, he might still think that you guys aren't monsters."

"Hey, I'm not a monster!" Caitlin exclaimed.

She yelled loud enough for Leon to hear. He got up and stood on the first step. "Jess, is everything ok?" he asked.

Back upstairs, everyone was quiet. From the top step, Jessica cried out, "Yeah! Everything's fine."

"Caitlin, you're not supposed to yell!" Gloria whispered. "He's not supposed to know that we're here."

"Sorry," Caitlin said.

"Alright, just call Duke," Jessica said.

Melissa got the phone and quickly called while Jessica was looking for her book of spells, making a ton of noises so Leon couldn't hear Melissa. "This reminds me of 'The Dairy of Anne Frank'," Gloria noted.

"Why?" Ashley asked.

"Because we have to be quiet to avoid being caught here," Gloria answered.

Melissa was done with the phone and announced, "Duke's going to come in an hour."

"Hey Jess, what's taking so long?" Leon yelled from downstairs.

"Still looking for the book I need," Jessica answered. "You guys stay quiet ok?"

Ashley, Gloria, Melissa, and Caitlin nodded in reply. Jessica took her book, along with bandages, and went downstairs. "Sorry for taking so long," Jessica said.

"No prob," Leon said.

They stayed in the family room and Jessica talked about all spells that existed. Upstairs, Gloria and the others were on the bed, either lying down or sitting quietly on Jessica's bed. "I want to do something," Ashley whined.

"What?" Melissa asked.

"Let's play I Spy," Caitlin suggested.

"Whatever," Gloria returned lazily.

"Ok," Caitlin started out. "I'll start. I spy with my little eye something…gray with black stripes—"

"Jess's cat," Ashley cut in. Jessica's cat was outside, lying on the roof right by the window. Jessica periodically let the cat outside and her cat would always come back. Also, Gloria was allergic to cats.

"Darn. Can I go again?" Caitlin asked.

"Go as many times as you want," Gloria muttered.

"Ok. I spy with my little eye something…with yellow eyes and black—"

"Jess's cat," Gloria answered.

"Darn. Ok, I spy with my little eye something…with paws—"

"Jess's cat. And I'll guess the next one. Jess's cat," Gloria replied again.

"Ok, that's just creepy," Caitlin commented.

"What's creepy is you sounding like Dory of 'Finding Nemo'," Ashley remarked. "In fact, you just said exactly what she said."

"Let's just play something else," Caitlin said.

* * *

Back downstairs…

* * *

"Well now, do you believe me?" Jessica asked.

"I sure do," Leon replied.

Jessica was working on fixing Leon's arm. She first cleaned it with peroxide and then gently wrapped his arm with a white fabric used for deep wounds. She could've used her healing spell, but she thought it was just a waste of energy for deep claw marks that could easily heal in a few days. "But there's more," Jessica said. "My…_our_ friends Melissa, Gloria, Ashley, and Caitlin are also different. Gloria and Ashley are white vampires, Melissa is a silver dragon, and Caitlin's a pirate."

"What?" Leon said both eyes wide once again. "You being a witch was enough, but now four of my own friends are vampires, a dragon, and a pirate? This I need to see."

"Ok," Jessica said. "Be right back!"

She ran upstairs again and went into her room. "You guys, I need you to go outside and pretend you just came in. Leon wants you guys to prove to him that you are what you are. Climb out my window, wait at least 20 minutes, and then pretend you just came. Got it?"

"Ok," Gloria said.

Jessica stayed for a few minutes, so Leon wouldn't be very suspicious, and afterwards ran back downstairs, claiming that she had just called the others. Melissa opened the window and started to climb out. But when she started getting down from the roof, she slipped and fell on her back on the ground. "Ouch," Melissa whispered in a weak voice and closed eyes.

Gloria climbed out but also slipped and fell off the roof. Melissa opened her eyes and saw Gloria. "No, no, no, no!" she begged.

Gloria landed on Melissa. She tried to breathe, but Gloria's body knocked the wind out of her. Leon and Jessica were watching TV and talking so they couldn't really hear. "Sorry Mel." Gloria tried to get up but didn't have a chance. Caitlin landed on her. "Why the hell do we keep slipping?" Caitlin demanded.

"You guys are slipping on bird poop," Ashley replied with a laugh.

"Eww!" Caitlin yelled but not too loud.

Ashley jumped off and landed on her feet _without_ slipping. Everyone else got up and they all waited by Jessica's garage for 20 minutes.

* * *

18 minutes later…

* * *

"My butt's starting to hurt," Melissa complained.

"Mine's numb," Gloria said.

"Two more minutes to go," Ashley announced.

Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, and Caitlin sat in front of Jessica's garage in the shade. It was very hot and they were very tired. They started to grow impatient. It felt more like hours instead of minutes. A shiny blue Suburban pulled up to the driveway several seconds later. "The shine! It burns!" Caitlin whined, covering her eyes with her arms from the bright glare, playing around like she normally does.

"Duke!" Melissa yelled.

Duke came out of his car. Melissa walked up to him, hugged him, and kissed him on the lips. Duke kissed her back, walked to the shade, and asked, "What the hell are you guys doing out here? Its frickin' hot out here!"

"We'll explain later," Gloria said. "20 minutes up?"

Ashley looked at her watch and answered, "Yep!"

"Finally! Time goes by slow when you're on the ground for a long time," Caitlin noted.

"It felt like an hour," Ashley murmured.

"You do know that you came early, right?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes. Why does it matter?" Duke wondered.

"I dunno," Caitlin replied.

"So then…shall we get going?" Duke asked.

He placed his arm around Melissa's shoulder and all of them headed to Jessica's door. They rang the doorbell and Jessica answered it. Once everyone was done exchanging hellos, they went inside. It was nice and cool inside her house. Ashley quietly muttered, "How come you had us stay outside in the hot weather while you got to stay inside a nice cool house?"

"Because you had to come through the door as if you just came. If you stayed in my room, how on earth would you be able to come through the door? We couldn't let Leon know about your staying here and listening to what was going on," murmured Jessica.

"We could've just stayed in your room for 20 minutes and come out afterwards!"

"Oh…sorry about that then. I guess I was just not thinking."

Jessica led the others, including Duke and Leon, outside to her backyard. Duke leaned against the wall and Leon crossed his arms across his chest. "OK, just watch," she said.

Leon and Duke nodded and Jessica looked at Gloria and the others. They all nodded. Gloria and Ashley were the first to change. Duke and Leon watched in amazement as both girls became white, grew wings, and grew claws. They grew larger and other features changed. Their teeth grew into four long white fangs. Once the transformation was done, Ashley and Gloria spread their wings and screeched loudly. "Cool," muttered Duke with a smile.

"Holy Jesus Christ!" uttered Leon with his eyes wide open.

"Jeez, couldn't you think of a better compliment?" Ashley complained.

"This is our true form," Gloria mentioned. "We are real white vampires, but we won't hurt you, which you should already know. Vampires are far more different than what is said about them. But, of course, I think I'll leave that for later."

Then Caitlin stood in front of them. A blue spiral circled her entire body and concealed her within its coils of blue energy. Once it disappeared, her clothes changed and she was wearing a few new things. "Aye, this is me true form, lad," she said in a pirate accent. "And like G and Ash, pirates are different from what people say. Except what is said isn't all that different from what is true."

"Wow," Duke complimented.

"What the?" said Leon. He wasn't expecting Caitlin to look like herself and have very few changes after Gloria and Ashley's transformation.

Caitlin took out her sword Zarok and, as fast as lightning, placed the point of the blade on the bottom of Leon's chin. "Do you, lad, have a problem with that?" Caitlin grinned. She didn't want to hurt Leon or anything. Just scare him to death with her lethal weapon.

Leon gulped as he looked at the deadly sword. He then looked at Caitlin and shook his head in reply. Caitlin smiled and removed Zarok from Leon's chin and back into its sheath. "Well you know how I already look, but I'll also change," Jessica said.

She transformed into her true self as well. Leon didn't say anything but Duke commented, "Nice outfit."

"Now it's my turn," Melissa grinned.

She grew silver scales, large wings, and grew very tall. Jessica had created a barrier that surrounded the entire house. It prevented all people in the entire area from hearing them. It also created something like an illusion so everyone couldn't see Melissa or anybody. She stood on twos and spread her wings to its full length. She roared loudly, showing her teeth and big sharp fangs. "Yeah! That's my girl!" Duke yelled with a smile.

He and Leon looked up and felt like they would fall on their backs. Melissa towered before them. She lowered her head to have Jessica and Caitlin stand on her head. They held on to her long marble smooth horns as she hoisted her head up. Ashley and Gloria flew into the air and both stayed on either side of Melissa's head. Then Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa roared in happiness (and to amaze the two men more) as Jessica and Caitlin cheered. "Good show!" Duke shouted loudly.

"This has got to be a dream," Leon muttered to himself.

Melissa got on all fours to let Jessica and Caitlin get off. They all returned to normal soon after. "So…what do you think?" Jessica questioned.

"That was TIGHT! All of your forms are so cool! I have to see you guys fight now," Duke complimented.

"This has to be a dream!" Leon repeated again. He seemed to like it, but Leon seemed freaked at the same time. "This can't be real! This can't be real! Somebody pinch or slap me or something!"

"Yo dude, this is not a dream. I too believed that this was a dream when I learned of Melissa's true form," Duke said.

"This isn't real! This isn't real!" Leon kept shouting again.

Caitlin came up to him. "Snap out of it! It's real! This is a part of reality!" Caitlin reminded him.

She slapped him across his face, knocking some sense into him. Leon placed his hand on his aching cheek and cried, "Oww!"

Caitlin was going to slap him again when Leon said, "That's ok Caitlin! Freaking out over."

Caitlin lowered her hand. "Are we done? Because I have to get home and watch 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'," Gloria claimed.

"So do I," Ashley stated. "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" was a cancelled show but they had the DVD sets. Every now and then they wanted to see it. The show was very important to them as "Yu-Gi-Oh" is to Melissa and "The O.C." is to Jessica. "Point is…do you guys believe us?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah and don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Duke said.

"Neither will I," said Leon. Then he added, "I believe you now."

"Good. Now we can all settle down and head home." Jessica headed back inside, her friends right behind her. She led Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Duke, and Melissa to the door. They walked home while Leon stayed with Jessica and they spent a little more time together alone finally. But of course, Gloria, Ashley, and the others would have to work all day tomorrow because if they didn't, it could mean the destruction of the world.


	17. Discovery of The Thunder Lizards

Chapter 16: Discovery of the Thunder Lizards

The next morning, Melissa called everyone to come over to her house. When they arrived she took them to the lab. They went to the room with a large machine that could detect anything it was told to detect. "You guys, I have bad news," Melissa said.

"You're ugly," Gloria laughed but quickly added, "I'm kidding."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Melissa returned saracstically.

She turned on the screen and everyone could hear some kind of alarm. On the screen, it said, "Alert: Electric Surge Detected." "What does that mean?" Gloria asked.

Ashley looked at her strangely. "Maybe it means that it detected an electric surge," she answered. "Duh!"

"I meant what does it mean when it says 'Alert: Electric Surge Detected' when there are always electric surges?" Gloria corrected. "Basically means why it is an alert? Why is it important?"

"Ok, we get the point," Ashley said.

"Because it's not just _any_ electric surge," Melissa replied. "It's an electric surge from a high powered lightning storm. And no, I can't explain that."

"Which means?" Jessica pursued.

"Which means that the only high powered lightning comes from either thunder lizards or, of course, me. It's possible that with the blades on their back, they can create lightning storms with a huge amount of electricity. All in all, we have more to fight."

"How did you know it could be thunder lizards?" Caitlin asked.

Melissa growled in frustration. "Damn it Caitlin! I just explained."

"Oh," Caitlin said.

"So we have to make plans," said Gloria. "We'll have to find out where they are first. Melissa?"

"I'm still trying to work this thing. I'm not the tech freak here," admitted Melissa.

"So, you want me to do it?"

"Be my guest," Melissa smiled, holding her hand out.

Gloria groaned. She got on the computer to find out where the electric surge was coming from. Her fingers quickly hit the buttons on the keyboard, spelling out the computer's instructions. The computer finally answered her question. "Electric surge detected…647 miles east from current location. Creatures detected in location. Have very high energy level. Electric power equals more than 20,000 volts. Creatures identified as thunder lizards."

"Man, those thunder lizards have extremely high voltage energy," Ashley mentioned. "How many volts are in their electricity?"

"Around 55,000 volts," Melissa answered.

"Around 55,000 volts!" Ashley echoed.

"C'mon! Each thunder bolt has 100,000 volts or more. Combine about 20 lightning bolts and you get…a lot more. Mine is a lot more than 500,000 volts. Each has about…20,000 perhaps," Melissa elucidated.

"Hello people! We need to get prepared, not talk about science," Gloria reminded them.

"We can teleport now, can't we?" Caitlin asked.

"No because we can't go that far," Jessica replied. "We can only teleport 250 miles at a time. By teleporting the maximum amount, it'll take me 3 days to regain my power."

"So…let's fly," Caitlin suggested.

"Fly 647 miles!" Ashley, Jessica, and Gloria exclaimed at the same time.

"Oh c'mon! Mel can fly for 3 days without resting. Ash and Gloria can fly at least 100 miles. With them 3, we can get there before you know it. In 3 days, we can cover over 600 miles. We can walk the rest of the way. We can leave early tomorrow morning."

"That's the smartest thing you've said this whole day," Jessica commented.

"Oh yeah," Caitlin grinned

"What time do we leave?" Ashley asked.

"Most likely around…6:00 AM," Gloria responded.

"6:00 AM!" Ashley yelled.

"The earlier, the better," said Gloria.

"But—but—but—" Ashley began to protest, but she just groaned. "Fine."

"Atta girl," Gloria said. "Let's meet at…Cait's house. It is east from her house."

"Ok," Jessica agreed.


	18. Journey to The World of Thunder Lizards

Chapter 17: Journey to the Electric World of Lizards

* * *

10 hours later…

* * *

"My wings feel like they're gonna fall off," Ashley complained.

"Mine too," Gloria added.

"How are you doing Mel?" Caitlin asked.

"I still have a lot of energy," Melissa replied.

"Well you're a dragon," Ashley said. "You're larger and well-built. We're not very big and we're not as well-built."

"I know." Melissa had the same opinion.

They all continued to fly towards their destination.

* * *

1 day and 7 hours later…

* * *

"Uhhh…" Caitlin moaned in her sleep, drool coming down the side of her mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey watch the scales!" Melissa ordered. "Drool face."

1 hour later…

"Grrr…shut up already goddamn it!" exclaimed Melissa.

"Huh?" Gloria said, finally waking up on Melissa's back.

"Your snoring is pissing me off!" Melissa complained. She was baring her teeth; a sign of her anger. "If I hear you snore again, I swear to God I'll kill myself!"

"Sorry," said Gloria. She yawned loudly and stretched a little. Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica were just waking up as well. "Mornin' ya'll," Melissa said.

"What's up with the country accent?" Ashley asked.

"You know what? Maybe I felt like talking that way! Gosh!" Melissa returned. "You have a problem with that?"

"So how far have we gone?" questioned Jessica.

Caitlin took out her high tech compass. Her compass could be what it was made to be, but she programmed it so that if they needed to go somewhere, she could put in how many miles they needed to go and it could beep when they reach their destination. "So far we've gone…302 miles. Wait…303 miles," Caitlin replied.

"Man, still a long way to go," Gloria noted.

"You are soooo uncomfortable to sleep on Mel," Ashley commented.

"Hmph. That's the least of my problems," muttered Melissa.

"I'm hungry," Caitlin said.

"For heaven's sake! We ate like…an hour ago! And already you're hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Yep," Caitlin replied.

Melissa dived towards the ground, one clawed hand outstretched. She grabbed a small bush of eatable berries and threw it to Caitlin. "Here! Go crazy," she said.

"Food!" Caitlin yelled.

She started eating the berries. "Too bad we don't have junk food huh?" Gloria asked Ashley in a soft voice.

"Actually it's a good thing we don't have that kind of stuff," Ashley replied.

"Why?"

"Because Caitlin would eat it all."

"Oh yeah huh."

* * *

Another day and 2 hours later…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin questioned.

"No," Melissa replied.

* * *

30 minutes later…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin asked again.

"No," Gloria replied, annoyed.

* * *

And 30 minutes later…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin asked yet again.

"No!" Ashley yelled.

* * *

And another 30 minutes…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin questioned.

"NO!" Jessica cried.

* * *

And yet another 30 minutes later…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin asked.

"Godit! We said no like a thousand times! No! No! NO!" Melissa shouted, furious and breathing rapidly like she'ds been running. Her hands were covering the sides of her head.

* * *

5 hours later…

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Caitlin asked.

Gloria growled in reply.

* * *

So many hours later that, unfortunately, we lost track of time…

* * *

"Are we there—" Caitlin was about to ask.

"NO!" Jessica, Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa interrupted.

"Are we there yet?"

"Beep, beep, beep," Ashley said in a high pitched voice.

"Hey! The little compass thingy beeped!" Caitlin announced.

She looked at the compass but it only said 564 miles instead of "Destination Reached". "Does that answer your question?" Gloria asked.

* * *

Yet another day and 5 hours later…

* * *

"Are we there—?"

Gloria put her hand over Caitlin's mouth. "Shut…the…hell…up…NOW!" she yelled slowly.

"Say it again Cait and I **WILL** burn you to a crisp!" Melissa snapped. "You may be our friend, but you're really annoying us now!"

"Well I do what I love and love what I do," uttered Caitlin.

"Now…it's time to walk," Melissa announced. "I'm already tired."

"Alright," Ashley said. She took Caitlin's compass and whined, "We still have 163 frickin' miles to go!"

Melissa landed on the ground and changed back to normal. "I know what we can do," she said once she was normal. "Ignasha makr!"

Suddenly they all heard a roar. Then a creature landed right in front of them. It was HUGE! All five girls only reached up to a few inches above its ankle. It had gleaming golden scales, large, twin horns that were smooth and metallic, twin neck frills, and whiskers around its mouth that looked like the whiskers of catfish. It had an extremely long tail and many large muscles, especially around its wing. "This is a gargantuan great wyrm gold dragon. This female gold dragon can take us 150 miles. So we have to walk only 13," she clarified.

"But can't this dragon go farther?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, but we can walk," Melissa said. "Besides, this dragon has other things to do."

"Then we will hurry to get her to return," Gloria said. "Now let's go!"

* * *

5 hours later…

* * *

"Ok! We've reached 150 miles," Jessica said. "Everybody off!"

They all got off the golden dragon. She turned her immense body around, flew back into the air, and went back to tend to her lair. "So let's get started," Gloria said.

* * *

3 miles later…

* * *

"I'm soo bored!" Melissa complained.

"We all are," Gloria said.

"How much more?" Ashley yelled.

"We've only gone 3 miles," Jessica replied.

Ashley growled in reply.

* * *

1 hour later…

* * *

It was already turning dark. "Man, I'm tired," Ashley said.

"Aren't we all?" Gloria said.

"When are we going to rest?" Jessica questioned.

"When we find a safe place," Gloria retorted.

"But we're all frickin' tired! I bet you as we continue, something will—" Melissa was abruptly interrupted. Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, & Caitlin heard something like a loud _thump_. They all faced Melissa and saw her on the ground. Her hand was covering her face. "Ouch godit!" she yelled angrily.

Once Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, and Caitlin realized what had happened, they fell to the ground, laughing like crazy. Melissa groaned and tried to get up. Then she smiled and started laughing herself. Melissa had bumped into a tree while she was talking. "Now you see how I felt when I bumped into that pole in 7th grade," Ashley laughed.

"Yeah, but a pole is metal, not wood, even if it still hurts," Melissa said.

She finally got up and continued to walk with the others. The others periodically laughed, but eventually stopped.

* * *

3 hours lat—

* * *

"Ok enough!" hollered Gloria.

"What?" wondered Caitlin.

"Stop saying '3 hours later' or '1 hour later' or '5 hours later'!" snapped Gloria. "It's driving me crazy!" It looked like she was about to pull her hair out.

"All I said was five hours later, one hour later, and then I was about to say three hours later, until you interrupted," Caitlin said.

"It is still annoying," Gloria continued.

"You guys! We have to—" Jessica started out when a raindrop splashed on her face. Then even more raindrops fell from the sky. "Yay! It's raining!" Ashley cheered.

"So now it's a good thing to you?" Melissa questioned.

"With Ashley, anything with rain is a good thing," Caitlin muttered.

"So what are we supposed to do? There's no nearby shelter and we don't have anything to shield ourselves," Jessica inquired. She too liked the rain as Ashley did; however, it was windy and, as everyone should know, wind doesn't go very well with water in the winter time. Jessica sure didn't want to get sick and neither did her friends. "Oh! I think I know something that could help us!" Melissa declared. "I read this in a book once so let's see if that trick will help us."

She unexpectedly became a silver dragon again. She lied down on her left side, stretched her right wing to its full length, and placed it over everyone. It became very warm under Melissa's wing. "Man, this is a whole lot better," Jessica commented.

"But are you sure you're going to be able to handle the rain?" Gloria asked, concerned.

"Yeah! I'll be fine. I'll just activate my shield for now," Melissa said.

"Why couldn't we do this before?" Caitlin asked.

"Because first, it wasn't raining. Second, I assumed Gloria would find a safe place to rest by then," Melissa answered. "Now just relax and get some sleep. You deserve it."

She activated her shield to protect herself from the rain and went to sleep. Everyone else cuddled up near each other by her chest. Within a few minutes, they all dozed off after a long, hard day.

The next morning, Gloria was the first to wake up. She lifted Melissa's wing and stretched outside. The air smelled of dew and fresh vegetation. Gloria stretched for a long while but she couldn't crack her neck. Her neck was hurting a lot. She heard leaves rustling behind her. She looked back to find Melissa awaken slowly. She lifted her head and greeted Gloria with a smile, "Morning G. Sleep well?"

"No, thanks to you," Gloria replied.

"Me? What did I do?" Melissa asked.

"I'm kidding. I slept ok but now I have neck pain."

"Oh because I was going to say…"

"Morning peoples," Caitlin greeted happily not long after.

"Morning Cait. Do you have neck pain?" questioned Gloria.

"No. I slept on a pillow," Caitlin answered.

"A pillow?" asked Gloria and Melissa at the same time, baffled by Caitlin having a pillow. They didn't even bring supplies because they didn't think it would take this long.

"Yeah! See?"

She took out a pillow made of grass. "But how did you—" Gloria was about to ask.

"Earth powers duh! I made the outside with grass and stuffed it with grass. And yes I cleaned it."

Gloria growled. All 3 of them waited for Jessica & Ashley to wake up. Once they did, Melissa turned back into herself and they all continued on their journey.

* * *

1 hour later… (Caitlin's no longer saying it)

* * *

"Hey why do we have to walk? Why can't Mel just fly us there?" Caitlin grumbled.

"Because it was only 13 miles, which has decreased now, and because SOME of us need the exercise," responded Gloria.

"When are we going to reach our destination?" Ashley asked.

"We should be there by…6:00 PM," Gloria predicted. "I mean, we shouldn't be that far."

* * *

10:00 PM…

* * *

"Great prediction G," Melissa remarked. "We're supposed to be there by 6. Oh but would you look at the time! It's 10:00 PM!"

"Yeah, like you would make a better prediction Mel?" Gloria asked.

"All I would say is that we'll be there late at night, you fricking dumb—"

"Don't even go there, especially you Mel!" hollered Ashley. "We're all cranky. I know that, but it doesn't mean we have to fight."

"You're right Ash. Sorry Mel."

Melissa opened her mouth to apologize but Ashley interrupted. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, I _was _going to say 'Sorry G' but—"

"Hey look! There's smoke!" Caitlin declared.

"Maybe we finally—" Jessica said before being interrupted as well by a loud beeping.

"The compass thingy is beeping," Caitlin said.

"Nah, really?" Ashley said sarcastically.

"Yes really! We've _finally_ reached our destination," cheered Caitlin. "Let's go!"

She started to run, but Gloria grabbed her shoulder and brusquely pushed her back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait!" she shouted. "I know you. You're gonna barge in there without being cautious. Therefore, we get in trouble and they try to kill us. We're not taking that chance. So you stay behind us so we can ALL go kapeesh?"

Caitlin stayed with the others as they all went together to investigate the smoke. They all hid behind a large rock and peeked to see many thunder lizards eating, training, and doing other normal things. "So what do we do?" Ashley whispered.

"We have to make peace with them," Gloria replied in a soft voice.

"Make peace with them? But they're just killer beasts!" Jessica whispered.

"Don't you remember Mel's story? How the humans betrayed them? We can at least try to make peace with them. They don't deserve to be betrayed for no particular reason. Besides, they could prove to be powerful allies like the Nerubians," Gloria explained.

"She's right," concurred Melissa.

"We should do that," Ashley agreed. "They can be powerful allies. And if we don't then more people will die and more lizards will die. So we don't have a choice."

"Alright, let's—" Gloria was about to say when she saw Melissa get up and start running towards the lizards. "What the hell is she doing!" she demanded.

"You know how she is. She never thinks before she acts," Ashley said.

"C'mon! We have to stop her," Jessica said.

They ran out of their hiding place and ran after Melissa. She suddenly started walking calmly. She continued when two larger lizards stopped her. Besides being larger and more muscular, they had a horn on their nose and two spikes coming from both sides of their face. They snarled loudly, lips curling back, revealing their razor sharp teeth. Melissa exhaled a deep breath and transformed. She towered before them and bellowed, "Aye, mighty lizards. I come in peace. I am Melissa and I have returned."

"What does she mean by she has returned?" Caitlin asked.

"She must've known them before. But for how long?" Gloria asked.

The thunder lizards moved aside. "G, Ash, Cait, Jess, come already," Melissa ordered when she was human again. She pointed to them and, facing the two guarding lizards, added, "They're with me."

Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica caught up to her and walked slowly. The guarding lizards eyed them suspiciously but let them pass. "Melissa how long have you known them?" Jessica whispered to Melissa.

"A month," Melissa responded. "Since I'm a dragon, they respect me. But they tend to forget that I stay human most of the time."

"Why are you the respected one?" Jessica asked.

"I just said. I'm a dragon and I also have electric powers. Besides, my ancestors have known them for a very long time," Melissa muttered.

"I see," Jessica said. Then she quietly murmured, "Show off."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Caitlin, Gloria, and Ashley weren't paying attention to what was going on with Jessica and Melissa. They just walked into a huge group of thunder lizards, who were observing the girls as if they were from another planet, but they already knew that Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica were just guests. They also already knew that Melissa was there.

"So how do we make peace?" Caitlin asked.

"We must talk to the leader of the lizards," answered Melissa.

"Who is?" Gloria pursued.

"I don't know. I haven't met him yet, but I do know that it's obviously a male. He's known as Master what's-his-name," Melissa replied.

"Are you asking for the Master?" someone with a deep voice questioned.

All five of them turned around to find a thunder lizard, but a different one like the guardians. He was far more longer than the guardians and the other lizards themselves, approximately 48 ft long. This lizard had silver claws and large scars on his chest, side, and left eye. His claws were spread out in a triangle formation and he had 4 long canines. It would literally sink into its gums and come out when the lizard was going to use them.

"Who are you?" Jessica asked.

"I am the one you seek," the lizard responded in a deep, almost heroic type voice.

"You are Master what's-his-name?" Caitlin questioned.

The lizard raised a brow. "She means are you the master?" Gloria clarified.

"Yes I know," the lizard said.

"Why do you look so different from every other thunder lizard?" Melissa asked.

"All masters are seers," said the lizard.

"What's a seer?" Gloria asked.

"A seer is one whose more different than the rest of his/her kind. But this only applies to monsters and animals. The best way you can tell that someone is a seer is by appearance. But at times, they can look like the others. The ones who are seers tend to become the master or leader of their group. In times of crisis, they are believed to have the power to save their kin or even change the earth itself," the lizard clarified.

"Awesome…Anyways," Gloria continued, "We need to have a word with you um…"

"Thunduro," the lizard finished. "I am Master Thunduro."

"But isn't that the name of—" Melissa was about to point out.

"Thunduro X (tenth)," Thunduro completed. "I am heir to Thunduro IX (ninth). From generation to generation, ever since the very first master Thunduro, we have all been seers and we've become masters. We live far longer than ordinary lizards."

"Which explains why you're the tenth," Melissa said.

"Jeez I'm tired of hearing Thunduro!" Caitlin yelled.

"Now let's get started shall we?" Thunduro X said.

Gloria started to speak to him about creating peace between them and discussed what she and her team would do to prevent any more trouble between human and lizards but at the same time tried to convince Thunduro X to accept this peace. Thunduro X was furious when she spoke of such a topic! It was obvious that Thunduro X and all the lizards before him despised humans so much, that they wanted to exterminate them all from this earth. Since the betrayal, the thunder lizards had killed many adults and a few kids. They even got used to the taste of human flesh and they especially enjoyed the flesh of younger beings. The five girls couldn't blame him. Eventually Gloria got through to him. They finally made a deal. Gloria and the others agreed to protect them _if_ they agreed to stop killing people. "Fine," Thunduro agreed halfheartedly.

"Why did your kind try to kill Gloria?" Jessica demanded.

"Because we were told to," Thunduro X answered.

"Because you were told to?" Caitlin demanded.

"Yes," Thunduro X continued. "A man by the name of Ation told us to kill her. He said she betrayed him long ago. He's trying to get monsters to kill people that betrayed him a long time ago."

"Well that explains why its only been a few people killed and not like hundreds. Thanks for the info though," Caitlin said.

Thunduro caught Melissa staring at the huge and ugly scar on his side. She turned away quickly. "My first fight was with a black dragon," he said. "It was a worthy opponent, but I finally killed it. It took a long while to finally heal."

"Well that explains all the scars," Melissa noted. "You've been in many fights huh?"

"Yes, but my time will soon be over and my heir will take my place," Thunduro X explained.

"Well, I'll make sure we come by to check on you," Melissa smiled.

"Anyways," Ashley interrupted, "thanks for your time. We will keep our word and we'll check up on you from time to time. So we'll see you later." They showed their respect by bowing in front of the master thunder lizard. They said good-bye to him and headed back to where they had begun walking.


	19. Story of The Elemental Gods

Chapter 18: Story of the Elemental Gods

**A/N**: In case you forgot, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or D&D.

* * *

A thunder storm developed a few miles later. Cold rain poured and lightning roared. Fast blowing wind blew leaves, small rocks, water, and dirt into the girls' path. One of them spotted a cave with a small opening, barely big enough for them to enter, but small enough for it to go on unnoticed. They entered and quickly made a fire with the wood Caitlin had collected. Gloria sat near the entrance of the cave while everyone else sat around the fire. No one had spoken since they entered the cave. They were shocked from what they had just discovered. Melissa was the first to break the dead silence. "So let me get this straight. You _knew _this Ation?" she questioned. 

Gloria didn't reply. She was just staring at the ground, upset and stunned from her recent discovery. "You knew this guy and you never told us about it?" Melissa continued.

"I don't remember," Gloria replied.

"You don't remember? How is it that this guy remembers? Why don't _you_ remember? You betrayed him long ago! You could've been killed!" Melissa cried.

"I don't remember!" Gloria replied angrily. "You expect me to remember everything about my life! If I remembered knowing him, then I would've told you and the others about him!"

Ashley was about to stop them when Jessica stopped her. "This is between them," she stated. "This _is _their only way of settling their differences and solving their problems."

Ashley looked at her and looked back at Gloria and Melissa. As much as she did want to bring an end to their arguing she knew Jessica had a point. "Gloria, I don't expect you to remember everything about your life, but if you can remember your childhood and teenage years, you should be able to remember this," Melissa said.

"But I don't remember ANYTHING about Ation!" retorted Gloria.

"Maybe the reason is because he was very different before than now. Or perhaps you just need time to think," Caitlin said.

"Well, on our way home, you can think about it," Ashley said.

"That should be able to help or when we get home, we can help you remember," Jessica added.

"I can do my best," Gloria said.

"You might remember as we continue," Ashley said. "But we'll try our best to help you."

"Thanks guys," Gloria said.

Melissa took in a deep breath and calmed down hastily. "Alright Gloria, sorry for yelling at you. Guess I'm still just a bit surprised about you actually being acquainted with our guy."

"Just make sure you think before you get angry," Gloria remarked.

Gloria finally walked to the fire and sat with everyone else. A flash of lightning lighted the sky with strong light for a brief moment. Then it became dark again. "You know, this reminds me of the thunder god," uttered Melissa.

"There's a thunder god!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Of course! There are gods for all the elements on Earth, including our own powers," Melissa declared.

"Really now?" Gloria felt a spark of interest. "I sense a story coming."

"Well, it's long but do you want to hear?" wondered Melissa.

Everyone nodded. "Alright," she smiled. "But first…" Melissa shot a fireball at the already burning fire. The cave became even warmer as the fire grew bigger. She soon got herself comfortable and so did the others. "Are you ready?"

They nodded their heads in reply. They all sat around the fire as Melissa cleared her throat and began her story. "There are precisely 7 gods for each element," she began. "Darkness _is_ considered an element just so you know. These gods go by the name of Slifer, Avani, Desdemona, Gryphon, Tranquility, Hyozanryu, and Gren Maju Da Eiza. They control a specific element. These elements are electricity, earth, fire, water, wind, ice, and darkness but you guys should know that. Each of these gods has their own special way of becoming a god.

"Slifer was one of the very first gods. Slifer became a god of electricity because he was in a noble fight to save Earth. Desdemona, Hyozanryu, Avani, Gryphon, Gren, and Tranquility joined him. Slifer's family had been killed by an evil being identified as Kolak. Slifer was also enraged and upset because Kolak killed more than his family. His friends and other innocent beings were killed. Slifer became friends with the other to-be gods and together, they united to fight Kolak. As for Kolak's being, it is unknown for now but is close to being discovered. Slifer succeeded in killing Kolak but it cost him his life. He died in that great war and soon became a powerful god. Before this fight, Slifer had been fascinated with electricity. He thought of electricity as a beautiful thing to look at like fire. He grew up around the element and discovered his power when he killed an evil being called a death elf, who casts spells and cause nothing but torture and death. Since then, he was dedicated in terminating all of evil. His final sacrifice made him a legend; therefore, he became a god. It is said that he's a long red snake-like dragon with spikes on his back, two mouths, and large wings. If there's a thunder/lightning storm, it signifies Slifer's anger. But when he takes electricity away like a blackout, it shows that he is in a fight, mind you just because he's a god doesn't mean he no longer fights evil, or it shows that it's punishment for the evildoing of a monster or human. He has given us his power to survive. His electricity signifies his intense power.

"Tranquility is goddess of water. She is believed to be a blue woman with hair that had all the colors of the rainbow. She's also supposed to be wearing a long light blue dress. She is goddess of water because she was also part of the war Slifer and the others took part in. Most of her family was killed but the only survivor was her younger sister, who, in addition, loved water as well as she did. Tranquility and her sister tried all they could to protect others but neither could stand up to the power of Kolak. Then Tranquility met Slifer and soon learned what he was doing. She and her sister joined the others to a final battle. She helped defeat Kolak but also lost her life. And, like Slifer, because of her sacrifice, she became goddess. Before the fight, she was fascinated with water, but never liked to waste it like we humans do today. She too discovered her power when she saved some stranded sailors from a sea monster. She also became dedicated in destroying all that was evil. She became a legend after her death. It is said that when she's angry, destructive tidal waves, floods, and tsunamis will form. Supposedly when it's raining like now, she's upset. Oceans, waterfalls, rivers, and lakes, including rainbows, stand for her beauty. She gives us her power to help us survive like Slifer. As you can see, Slifer and Tranquility have a lot in common. They sacrificed themselves, protected all good, loved their elements, were fascinated by their elements, lost most of their friends and family, became legends, and, lastly, became god and goddess. They are the wisest of all the gods and they are the strongest of all 7. They soon became extremely close friends, but didn't fall in love with each other, or at least I don't think they did.

"The next powerful one is Gren Maju Da Eiza. He is god of fire. Before his final battle, he _studied_ fire and even loved being in places of hot temperatures. He loved watching its power. He never liked to waste his fire, even if he had an unlimited supply. He only used it for specific tasks. He spent most of his life with fire and practiced with it. He discovered his power when he killed his own father for murdering his mother. He was very devastated by her death and therefore, he was determined to let no evil live. He showed no mercy and even _enjoyed_ watching his evil victims writhe in pain. He treated it as punishment for what the sinful being had done to the good. He supposedly has green scaly skin with orange armored skin, a snake-like body, and dragon wings. He also joined the war and helped killed Kolak. But that was the first time he experienced fire's true destructive power. His great fire helped bring death to Kolak but his triumph was short-lived for he died after the war. His body was thrown inside a volcano, since he loved fire and his wish was fulfilled. Slifer and Tranquility didn't have a wish after death like Gren. It is now assumed that when a volcano erupts, he is very angry. It's even alleged that explosions from explosives like grenades, rockets; even the all-powerful nuclear/atomic weapon shows his anger. He has given us his power to help protect the world rather than help us survive. True, we wouldn't have survived without fire but we use fire far more on wars and things like that.

"Next one's Hyozanryu. He is the god of ice. He enjoyed being around ice and even risked his life persistently just to test the power of frost. He used to be a shiny silver dragon until one day while he was spending his usual time with ice, he was attacked by a frost bird. Hyozanryu didn't have much fighting experience because he never liked to fight. He would only fight if absolutely necessary. The frost bird's attack devastated him by freezing him. It then left him for dead. Luckily, he was able to break free but not after nearly a month. Note that even though silvers are immune to ice, they can still be frozen by it. But they can't die from it. So if they were frozen in a block of ice, their powers would steadily melt the ice, freeing them. Anyway, once he was finally free he looked at his new body and realized what had happened. While he was frozen the bird's frost literally turned his scales into pure ice that can't be melted. But he wasn't devastated by his icy transformation. In fact, he enjoyed turning into an ice dragon! He was now icy blue with golden claws. But his moment of happiness was cut short when he thought of the frost bird. He wanted his vengeance, even if he liked being an ice dragon. Hyozanryu never allowed _anyone_ to defeat him without payback. He still had a heart of a silver dragon. He hunted the bird down and finally killed it. But that wasn't doomsday for him. Death for him would be when he would join the fight against Kolak. He hadn't exactly lost any friends or family to him, but, as all silver dragons, he didn't like watching guiltless beings die from Kolak's onslaught. He fought bravely alongside the others and died with honor. Now when there are blizzards or avalanches, it means that he is angry. Snowing is a way of showing how happy he was when he was alive.

"Next is Gryphon. Gryphon's god of wind. He enjoyed feeling the cool wind breeze on his feathers. He is a turquoise eagle with red eyes and sharp talons. He loved 'basking' in windy days. He sometimes used his time to study the wind and even tested his power at times. He too joined the fight against Kolak and only joined because he didn't like to see innocent mortals killed by the nearly invincible Kolak. He was responsible for creating the ultimate attack, which combined his power with the others. But he was the first to actually come up with it. It's an even longer story. So he had the others combine their power and together they killed Kolak. And like the rest of them, he died honorably. When tornadoes form, it signifies his anger like all disastrous weather. But windy days show that he is cheerful and shows us why he was happy when he was alive.

"The next one's Desdemona. She is goddess of darkness. Although darkness isn't exactly an element, we and the gods consider it as one. Anyways, she is supposed to be a green colored woman with purple hair, a third eye (positioned as a vertical slit like a cat or snake's pupil), a long dark purple dress, and nice jewelry. She loved being in darkness. Often times, she would spend her day in a dark room. She hardly went out in the sun but always went out at night. She enjoyed being with nocturnal creatures and loved traveling with them. She lost all her friends and family from Kolak and went mad with vengeance. No, she didn't go insane from anger and depression. She was just _dying _to gain revenge on him. So she fought and died respectably. You know how there are places on Earth where the sun takes _forever_ to rise? According to legend, when it takes longer than normal, it supposed to mean she's angry. It is unknown what happens when she shows everyone how happy she used to be. People believe that when it becomes night and when nocturnal animals come out, she shows that she's happy. But some people don't believe that.

"The last one is Avani. She loved anything of earth and, like Tranquility; she took great care of the earth. But many people harmed the earth, which made Avani furious. She has purple hair, a sharp sword, and the clothes of an Amazon warrior. She loved creating things like drakestone golems (a dragon made of a special stone that only takes orders from its creator) with her earth powers when she first discovered it, which was when she killed an enemy of hers. She befriended few earth-loving creatures, but spent most of her time with her favorite creations, the drakestone golems. She was unkind to most creatures, especially humankind. True she lost most of her drakestone golems from Kolak but she preferred working alone, so at first she didn't help Slifer and the others. But they eventually got through to her and she helped them defeat him. For the last time, she died with respect. Now rock slides, dust bowls, earthquakes, and sandstorms show when she is angry. Daredevils or small tornadoes made of sand/dirt show how fast and daring she was.

"These guys became gods of the elements they liked. They all sacrificed themselves to protect the entire world. When they're angry, their rage damages Earth. And it's believed that one day, they will be angry at the same time and they will destroy Earth with just that, which some of us knows as Armageddon. Each day, they get angry for crimes that the evil do. But at the same time, they protect us from them. This war we're having could be getting them very angry and if we don't finish this now, it's a pretty safe bet that they can get very angry at the same time, spelling end of the world for everyone."

Thunder roared loudly and more angry lightning bolts struck the sky. "Wow," Caitlin said, amazed. "So is that how we got our powers?"

"I don't know but I highly doubt we were chosen at random," Melissa went on. "It could've depended on our ancestors."

"Why?" Caitlin pursued.

"Well, a god wouldn't just give _anybody_ their power because then that person equipped with their power could kill themselves. The gods' powers are extremely powerful," Melissa continued. "In each bolt of Slifer's lightning, there are over 100,000 volts, powerful enough to kill maybe 30 humans in one strike. Tranquility's water can turn New York from a thriving city to a ruined city with remains of building, cars, and living things all over the place. Gryphon's wind can destroy the state of CA in a day! Desdemona's darkness can bring eternal darkness to the entire world, blocking the sun's rays. Gren's fire can burn down half of America within minutes. Hyozanryu's ice can freeze the entire continent of Texas in seconds. It can even freeze pure lava and not melt for a very long time. Avani's earth can crush the entire state of Montana, turning it into a wasteland. Combining all these powers will mean doomsday for Earth."

"Ok we get the point!" Gloria looked at her with a thoughtful expression. "It is interesting, but aren't some of these gods from…Yu-Gi-Oh?"

"Yes," Melissa replied. "But I didn't make any of these things up. Yu-Gi-Oh created cards based on the gods. But other games and shows and things like that have based monsters or characters on the gods."

"Coolio. That was a very long story you told."

"Yeah I know."

"Well I think it's time to go to sleep. It's probably almost midnight."

Caitlin made pillows and blankets of clean grass. They all fell asleep near each other by the fire.

The next day, they rode a silver dragon for 8 miles and then flew back home themselves. Gloria and Ashley didn't fly at all this time. They stopped to rest when they had a few miles to go. They told stories around the fire again that kept their spirits up. Gloria was keeper of funny stories. Ashley was keeper of scary stories and stories of killers. Caitlin was keeper of creepy stories of crazy people. Jessica was keeper of witch related stories and family stories. Melissa was keeper of legends/myths and monster stories.

After 3 days, they finally reached home. It was almost midnight by the time they had arrived. They all went to sleep quickly once they split and went home. They slept longer, now that they were in their own decent bed, but they would once again wake up into another nightmare.

* * *

"Shoot! They stopped the thunder lizards too!" Ation yelled.

"I swear you are a frickin' dumbass," Abby commented. "They're smart, unlike you. With Gloria, they're gonna beat you. She's smart and a good leader. So there's, like, no way you can beat them."

"Whose side are you on?"

"I am on Gloria's side. Duh!"

"Alright, you're going to the attic NOW!"

"Oh no, you didn't! I ain't going up there."

Suddenly five monsters that were orange with black spots and had spikes all over them stood in her way on all fours. "Go now!" he ordered again.

"Fine." Abby turned around and headed out the door. She went up to the attic and remained there with her rat Elizabeth. "Now it's time for the last threat," Ation noted. "If that doesn't work, we are going face-to-face. This should also give me enough time to finish working on my master plan."


	20. Transformation in Public

Chapter 19: Transformation in Public

* * *

4 days later…

* * *

Today, Caitlin and Jessica took the bus to go to the mall. Caitlin did have a car, but it was having problems. So she was waiting for it to get fixed. Jessica, on the other hand, didn't have one yet but was saving her money to get a car. "So which store do we go to first?" Jessica asked.

"Let's go to Hot Topic first," replied Caitlin. They went to Hot Topic and afterwards, went to other stores like Barnes & Noble, the long since fixed Kohls, and more. When they left the mall, they went to the bus stop and waited for the bus. While waiting they just talked. "So what are you going to do afterwards?" questioned Caitlin.

"I don't know," Jessica responded. "Hey Cait, do you think we're out of danger? I mean, Gloria really knew this guy Ation."

"I highly doubt it," replied Caitlin. "Gloria's in even more danger than us. But don't worry about her. Ashley and Melissa have been guarding her themselves, using spells, monsters, or be there themselves."

"How come they didn't ask us to help?"

"They said that they didn't want to ruin our plans and gave us a few days for ourselves. Besides, they can handle it themselves and if they need us, they'll holler for us. Maybe later, we can see if we can—"

"Oh great!" Jessica lowered her head in disappointment.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Craig."

Craig came up to them and said "Hi!" Caitlin and Jessica groaned, but not too loud. They didn't like him as much once they found out his true personality. He was annoying and was a bit too perverted. "Oh hey," Caitlin said, sounding not the least bit excited.

"So what's happening?" Craig asked.

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just stuff!"

"Ok, ok sorry. How are you guys?"

They both sighed. They wanted him to go away. "What?" Craig wondered. He couldn't see why they didn't seem all that happy. Out of the blue, a fireball that Caitlin first caught headed towards a convertible. "Hey Jess, look," announced Caitlin.

Jessica also spotted it heading towards the convertible. Craig couldn't see it. "What are you looking at?" he said.

"Craig, just go away and leave us alone!" Jessica ordered.

"Jess we have bigger problems," Caitlin reminded her. They were about to run towards the vehicle that was in danger, but they couldn't react fast enough for the fireball struck its target with full impact. The four people, a man, a woman, and two children, were incinerated instantaneously. The car exploded and flipped into the air. It landed on its back. Flames engulfed its interior as well as the outside. A horse jumped off a nearby building and landed on the burnt, destroyed car. This horse was very different from any other horse. The mane and tail were made of flames rather than hair. Its eyes burned a fiery red and orange. The hooves were red and it was a very light yellow. "My God, that's one weird looking horse," Caitlin remarked.

"Yeah, a freakish horse that we have to fight," Jessica added.

"But we can't transform in front of everybody," murmured Caitlin.

"Crap! That's right," Jessica snapped. She quickly tried to think of a plan that could help distract everyone. Then she added, "We have to go to a bush or something."

"Like that one?" Caitlin pointed at a large bush that could hide them both.

"Ok, let's go!" Jessica and Caitlin gave their stuff to Craig and ran to the bush to transform. People were running away from the horse and weren't paying attention to what was going on. They popped out and stood in front of the horse. "Jessica, Caitlin, I'm gonna help as well!" bellowed Craig.

"No!" Caitlin and Jessica scolded him.

"But why?"

"Unless you want to deal with Melissa and Gloria, you will do as we say. Now say one more word and people might be on to us!" Jessica retorted.

"Aye Jess, move ye self out of the way!" Caitlin warned.

Jessica looked back to see the horse charging towards her. She jumped up and landed on its back. She tried to wrap her arms around the horse's neck to hang on but its burning mane scorched her. She granted herself fire immunity and held on tight. The horse attempted to get her off by kicking the air. "Whoa! Cait, do something!" Jessica urged.

"Aye mate, hang on!" Caitlin yelled.

The horse smacked into moving vehicles, hurting Jessica's leg. But nevertheless, she held on. The horse jumped and landed on its back, ran in circles, and continued to smack into poles and moving vehicles. Jessica still didn't let go, no matter what kind of pain the horse put her through. She knew that as long as she hung on, the horse would concentrate on getting her off rather than hurt innocent people and cause more destruction.

Caitlin took her sword out and aimed it at the horse's hooves. "C'mon mate. C'mon," she thought to herself, waiting for the right moment.

Her sword started to glow an icy blue and cold air was starting to leak from the sword. When she finally got a good aim, she yelled, "Eat frost…WEIRD HORSE!"

A comet of frost erupted from the tip of the sword. The force of it pushed Caitlin back a little. The frosty blast hit the ground where the horse's hooves were. It quickly froze the horse's feet, giving Jessica an opportunity to get off. "Haha! Now try to move!" Caitlin laughed in triumph.

"Caitlin! It can melt the ice!" Jessica moaned loudly, angry at Caitlin for forgetting such a vital thing.

"What?"

The horse took in a deep breath and spit a fireball at its frozen hooves. It didn't hurt itself, but it melted the ice. A small puddle of water was all that remained. It faced Jessica and Caitlin and snorted, lowering its head. It scraped at the ground with its hoof like a bull. "Oh…poopy," Caitlin finally realized her mistake.

The horse charged with full speed. "Even though fire beats ice, water still conquers fire. Boetq istalri!" Jessica yelled.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a tornado made of water (can also be known as a water spout) formed right in front of the horse. The horse ended its attack and tried to escape but was sucked in by the tornado's powerful winds. Jessica and Caitlin watched as the horse went around and around and around. Everyone around them also watched in awe. Finally after a minute, the tornado disappeared. The horse fell from the sky and hit the ground with a big impact, leaving a crater in the street. It landed on its back, instantly breaking its spine and neck. The mane and tail were no longer burning the powerful flames like before. "I think our job is done," Jessica smiled.

"Dang, that ended faster than everyone else's fights," observed Caitlin.

"Well that's because it was two against one," Jessica said. Then she added in a soft voice, "Let's transform back."

"Uh…Jess, we can't. We're in front of people," Caitlin whispered back.

Jessica looked around and could see why. People were staring at them in fear, surprise, and interest. Some were talking on phones. "Crap!" she cried out

"Aye matey, we'd better run!" Caitlin advised.

"Minka harak!" Jessica yelled, wasting no time.

A creature soon came into sight. It had black fur with a white underbelly, the body of a big cat, the face and wings of an eagle, and the tail of a horse. It was a gryphon, one of Jessica's favorites to summon for battle. "Let's get on! People are recording this," Caitlin informed.

Jessica and Caitlin hastily got on and the gryphon flew into the air with a flap of its big, powerful wings. It headed towards Craig and extended its paws to grab him by the shoulders. And without looking back, they headed home. As soon as Jessica and Caitlin reached home, they called everyone. They had to tell them about the desperate thing they had done to protect the city that could put them in greater danger of being discovered.

"What's with the big news?" Gloria asked.

"You guys, we have very bad news," Jessica said.

"Ok…but what?" Ashley wondered.

"We…transformed in public when we were fighting a new monster," Caitlin finally answered.

"You WHAT!" Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa shouted at the same time.

"It was either fight the monster or let it kill until we transform out of public," Caitlin clarified.

"In point of fact, we transformed behind a bush. But we still fought in public," Jessica corrected.

"But now we have a serious problem on our hands," Gloria prompted. "Let's check the news for a sec."

Gloria turned the TV on and changed it to the news. Once she had it on, she turned up the volume and they all stayed seated quietly and listened. "Today at 2:30 PM, a fight was reported between a horse in flames and what seemed like a pirate and a witch," the female reporter stated. "A large fireball was reported to have destroyed a convertible, killing two kids and a married couple. The explosion had also given nearby people 3rd degree burns. Both the witch and the pirate seemed to have powers that easily killed the horse. Soon after, a monster, which witnesses are saying to be a gryphon showed up and took a young man with it. Here is exclusive footage of the last remaining moments of the fight." They saw a video that showed Caitlin and Jessica fighting but with their backs turned. When Melissa saw the horse, she knew what it was. "Hey, that's a yellow leaper!"

"A what?" Ashley questioned, confused.

"I'll tell you later," Melissa replied.

The video showed Caitlin freezing the horse's feet. The horse used its fire to get rid of the ice and then charged at both girls. Jessica summoned a water tornado and then the horse was sucked into its swirling cone body. The horse fell on its back and died. Caitlin and Jessica looked around and saw people looking at them. Jessica summoned a gryphon, who took them away, including someone that was holding a lot of bags. Then the video was done. "Police say that whatever or whoever they are, they're still out there. They are considered armed and extremely dangerous. They ask you to be very alert," the reporter said. "Also, one of the witnesses identified the abducted young man as Craig Horner. A $50,000 reward is being offered to whoever can bring Craig back, alive and safe. Back to CNN."

Gloria took the TV off and told them once again that this was why they needed to be even more cautious about their powers. "We're sorry G," Jessica apologized.

"It's alright. You did what you had to do," she said.

"Jeez, we don't even get a thank you from those people," Caitlin remarked.

"So…may I speak?" Melissa asked politely.

"Go ahead Mel," Gloria said.

"Alright," Melissa went on. "The monster you guys fought was, like I had said previously, a yellow leaper. The race of fire horses began more recently than the other races we fought. They were created 175 years ago. It all started out with a red horse with eyes that were the color of fire. But the people of the village it was born in didn't like it and, like the hellhound, they believed that it was evil. So they literally set it on fire. But they soon realized their error. The horse was now a darker red and had burning scars on its skin and its mane and tail were now blazing with sizzling fire. Its eyes were burning with angry flames. For payback, it destroyed the peoples' homes and ultimately burned down the town into ashes. Another horse was born like that a few months later. The first fire horse also set this horse on fire to give it the power of fire. They continued to breed as time went by. People started to kill more of these horses as they grew. They feared that the fire horses would kill everything and anyone. However, these horses were kind and gentle. Even so, people slaughtered them. But some humans tried to protect them for they discovered the horses' true nature. As all humans, however, the hunters didn't give the horses a chance to show them they meant no harm. The fire horses soon understood what they had to do. They knew that no matter what they did, they could never live in peace. So they fought back.

"Eventually they moved to warmer places where humans wouldn't intrude. They soon began to live either in volcanoes or near them. They loved the scorching heat of the lava. There are five types of fire horses. The weakest type is called the flare horse. They aren't very strong but they are the quickest. The 2nd type is the flamer horse. The 3rd type is the blue fire. These are unique because their fire is blue, hence the name. The 4th type is the yellow leaper. These horses can leap very far and very high. The 5th and strongest type is the fiery machine. These are also unique because they're half horse and half machine. But this horse is a very rare sight indeed. Very few have faced this powerful beast and lived to tell the tale."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Gloria asked.

"Well, we can make peace with them," Caitlin suggested. "They're just like the thunder lizards. They just want revenge like them because they're being killed just because they look evil, even when they're truly kind. So if this is successful, they can become our allies."

"Good plan," observed Ashley. Gloria inquired, "Where can we meet them Ms. Monster-Know-It-All?"

"Well let's see," said Melissa. With a thoughtful expression she answered, "We can meet them in a volcano."

"WHAT!" Ashley, Jessica, Caitlin, and Gloria cried out in unison.

"Well unless you want to go to a place like the Sahara, we have to go to a volcano," Melissa explained. "Mind you, if we go to a place like the Sahara, we have to spend hours looking for them."

"How the hell are we supposed to go in a volcano?" questioned Ashley angrily.

"Since fire horses live in volcanoes they have created complex homes in it. It's like a city in the volcano. There are always guardians outside the volcano," Melissa clarified.

"So we ought to do what Caitlin suggested. We must talk to the leader of the group. So once we get past the guards, assuming we do, and then Jessica will use a spell to protect us from the heat. And we'll take it from there. Melissa, where is the nearest volcano?" Gloria finished.

"In our old home: Victorville," Melissa responded.

"Then it's settled. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded in reply and departed. Ashley and Melissa set out to Gloria's house to guard her. Today they would have to stand guard until 12 AM. Because of the attack, Gloria needed to be protected at all costs. Ashley and the others would take turns doing this. On the day after today, they would need to get ready to go on a heated adventure that could cause them harm.


	21. Car Ride Back Home

Chapter 20: Car Ride Back Home

"Do we have to go in a car?" Ashley asked.

"Well, I can't fly because I am tired and besides, it's not like it's that far. Well it is far but not as far as the thunder lizards home. Even if I could fly, I would have to fly over civilization. Duh…." Melissa rolled her eyes.

"You were able to avoid sleeping last time. And Victorville is 8 hours away! We could probably get there in half that time!" Jessica complained.

"We either ride the fucking car or you guys go on your own!"

"Guys we'll just ride the damn car. We have to save our energy for later on. We're gonna need all the energy we have to combat the fire horses if it gets to that point." Gloria was already getting tired of the whining.

"But Jess can—" Caitlin was about to suggest before being interrupted.

"Would you just get your ass in the damn car!" Gloria was losing her patience. She was sick and tired of all the damn complaining.

"Ok," said Caitlin. She didn't want to provoke Gloria. Everyone boarded the Navigator. Gloria sat in the driver's seat as Jessica sat in the passenger's seat. Ashley and Caitlin sat behind them and Melissa sat in the very back. "Hey why do you get the very back?" Caitlin asked Melissa when she was lying on her back with the middle seat belt on.

"Hey remember Ash and I covered for you and Jess. Right now it's…7:35 AM. We've been awake since yesterday. And we're both still tired. Besides, I got dibs," Melissa smirked.

"Fine. I've got dibs when we come back," Caitlin said.

"Fine by me." Melissa yawned loudly and got herself comfortable. Gloria started the car and drove to the freeway. Then they started their 8 hour trip to their old hometown Victorville, where they all met.

* * *

2 hours later…

* * *

"I'm hungry," Caitlin whimpered.

"Yeah, we know that. You said that like 2 minutes ago," Jessica said. She leaned against the window, bored and tired. "Can't we stop somewhere to get something to eat?" Caitlin questioned.

"Fine," said a reluctant Gloria. She stopped by the nearest store and bought two big bags of chips, a box of soda, and Hidden Valley ranch. Then she put all the stuff in the back where Ashley and Caitlin were sitting and said, "Go crazy." Almost immediately, Caitlin opened one of the bags of chips, opened the small jar of ranch, and started eating like she hadn't eaten in days. Melissa and Ashley were asleep, Jessica was still bored as hell, and Gloria continued to drive. 2 hours down, 6 more to go.

* * *

3 hours later…

* * *

"I'm hungry," Caitlin said.

"Damn you Caitlin, can you just chill!" Gloria cursed.

"Ok," Caitlin said, not wanting to get Gloria angry.

She heard Ashley wake up. Almost immediately Ashley opened her eyes widely and started smelling the air. Ashley uttered, "I smell Hidden Valley ranch. Must have ranch with chips."

"Sorry but I finished all the chips." Caitlin smiled.

"What!" Ashley yelled.

She grabbed Caitlin's shoulders and started shaking her. "Why did you finish all of it?" she demanded. "You frickin' stick!"

"What the hell is up with all that noise!" Melissa demanded.

"SHUT UP!" Gloria exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

Everyone was silent. Ashley let go of Caitlin, but gave her the evil eye. "G, how much longer?" Melissa questioned.

"2 more hours. When did you get up?" Gloria said.

"Just now. Wake me when we get there," Melissa requested.

She went back to sleep, Ashley and Caitlin stayed silent, Jessica was still sleeping, and Gloria continued to drive.

* * *

1 ½ hours later…

* * *

"Mel, wake up," Gloria said.

"Huh? What happened?" Melissa asked. "Are we there yet?"

She was on the floor of the car. Gloria was standing outside in front of her. "I braked too hard you fell off the seat," Gloria said with a smile. It looked as if she were going to laugh.

"I could've sworn you had your seatbelt on," Ashley noted.

"Yeah, but I took it off when I last woke up because it was starting to hurt. I guess, I forgot to put it on again," Melissa said.

"So where do we go now?" Gloria asked.

Melissa looked around and realized that they were in the parking lot in Wal-Mart. "Ok, we need to go a few miles past Ashley's, Jessica's, and my old high school Silverado and then take a right past the entrance. Keep going right and you will notice the volcano. Just drive towards it."

"Ok," Gloria said. "If I need your help, then I'll wake you."

"No, no, no. Just forget about it. I'll drive. I've slept long enough," Melissa said.

"Alright, I've got the back!" Gloria cheered.

"Hey but I got dibs," Caitlin reminded them.

"Remember Caitlin, you asked to be in the back once we head _back_. We're not heading back."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," said Caitlin. Gloria took the beck seat and Melissa took driver's seat. So they headed past Silverado and then took a right. Soon they would reach their destination.

"Alright, we're finally here!" Melissa announced.

"Finally!" repeated Gloria.

Everyone got out of the car, stretched their aching muscles, and headed towards the volcano. The way to the volcano slowly started going up in a slope and it became more difficult to continue. There were cracks in the ground where lava was streaming down the volcano. When they were midway there, they heard something like galloping. They hid behind a rock and took a peek. They saw a large group of horses with flaming tails and manes. There were far more horses outside than normal, probably because of the recent death of their ally back at Tranquility. "So much for an adventure," observed Ashley.

"So what are we waiting for?" Caitlin asked. "Aren't we going to go and make peace?"

"Yeah, like we're going to go up to them and just say 'Oh we want to make a peace treaty with you. Please?' We need to think of a plan," reminded Ashley.

"We need to think of a way to talk to them without being attacked," Gloria thought. "But what can we possibly do?"

Jessica got up and quickly transformed into a fire horse. "You can turn into a fire horse?" questioned Ashley.

"I can turn into virtually anything with the metamorphic spell. Besides, I absorbed its physical form," Jessica answered. She pointed at the horses with her head, signaling the others to come. "Follow my lead."

She slowly walked to the other horses, but everyone else stayed behind. They weren't sure if it was safe enough to just walk in there with one of their own kind. But the fire horses didn't react in any way. "Wait Jess!" Melissa whispered loudly. "Turn into a fiery machine. If we come out when you're a fiery machine, they will not attack."

Jessica heard her and became the powerful and rare horse. Jessica grew larger and was well-built. Muscles rippled beneath her skin. Her mane and tail were dark red with streaks of orange and yellow. Her hooves were jet black, her eyes were crimson, and parts of her body weren't flesh and skin, but clearly seen machine. Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Melissa ran to her and walked beside her. The fire horses saw this and bowed in respect as she walked. "Why are they bowing?" Caitlin asked.

"Because all lower ranks bow and respect all higher ranks. Since fiery machines are the strongest, they're also the highest rank among the horses. Jess, do not turn back until we're out," mumbled Melissa.

Jessica nodded. She stopped and bellowed in a deep voice, "I must speak with your leader immediately."

One of the yellow leapers got up and trotted to fulfill Jessica's demands. An older horse approached Jessica. It was taller, looked more powerful than the other yellow leapers, and was scarred from previous battles. "I am the one you requested for," the old one said.

"My friends and I wish to discuss some…manners with you," Jessica explained. She looked around and added, "Alone."

The leaper nodded and yelled, "Be gone!" The other horses left them alone and walked back inside the volcano. "Now…what is it that you wish to speak to me about?" the leader asked. "And who are you?"

"I am Jessica and these are my friends Gloria, Caitlin, Melissa, and Ashley. First, can you tell us who you are?" Jessica questioned.

"I am Lukorva. I shall discuss manners with you," Lukorva said.

"Ok…Lukorva. Gloria?" Jessica said.

"Alright, Lukorva. We need to settle something," Gloria said.

Gloria told Lukorva of what had occurred at home and negotiated with him. He didn't like the idea of creating a pact. But she told him that it was only between them. A reluctant Lukorva at last agreed after an hour or so of negotiating. Gloria informed Lukorva of the thunder lizards and what they had settled. They agreed on protecting the thunder lizards if the lizards were to stop killing people. So, Gloria told Lukorva that if he stopped killing people, they would do what they can to protect him and his kind. "Fine," Lukorva agreed. "But I must tell you of something else."

"What?" Gloria asked.

"We made a deal with a young man named Ation. As you saw, one of my horses had gone to your home and killed a family. We wish to not work for this fool. The only reason we agreed was because he promised freedom from the wrath of mankind. But apparently this just made it worse. I didn't know he would want us to attack in broad daylight. Can you help us?"

"We wish to fight this…fool as well as you do. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. He is located on an island 1,811 miles in the Atlantic Ocean. He needed us to kill specific people so he could work on his master plan."

"Thank you Lukorva. We'll handle it from here."

Gloria and the others left the horses but before they left, they did a little "time traveling". They went back to Silverado High School, where Ashley, Melissa, and Jessica went for four years. They walked around the outside campus for a short while. "This brings back old memories," Melissa noted.

"Yeah it does," Ashley said.

"After this, what do we do?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, we can continue driving around Victorville and visit old places," Jessica said. "I mean it's been about what….4-6 years since we were last here. For Gloria it's been seven or eight years.

"Well we can stay until five," Gloria said. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah it has," Ashley said.

"What's something that made our high school years great…Oh, remember when you bumped into that one dude and slipped on the concrete?" Ashley asked.

"Don't remind me," Melissa noted.

"Didn't the guy you liked come here?" Gloria asked.

"Yes he did."

"What was his name again?"

"His name was Nick Noyer. But we were just friends…sort of."

"Yeah sure."

"Shut up!"

"There were other things that made our years here great, even though ninth grade was the best," commented Ashley.

"I remember when we had Ms. Dunga for Algebra and Tim and Adam would always do things with their hands like break dance or whatever. And then one day just out of the blue, she comes in and does something with Tim. He's trying to get up and she pushes his head back down. Then she uses her hand to 'walk' on his back because evidently she did it with her kids. Not sure. But oh my God, it looked like she was going to rape him or something. It was so f'ing funny!" Melissa explained.

"I remember that," Ashley said, smiling.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Gloria said.

"Cuz you weren't with us in 9th grade. If you were, you would've had so much fun," Jessica said.

"Another thing I remember is when we were in 6th period, which was Honors English," Melissa remembered. "Ashley was talking to Adam and Tim and Sandra was trying to get Ronald's hat for some odd reason. She finally got it but I took it cuz I wanted to see it. So I'm just trying to keep it away from her and look at it. Then she suddenly rams me to the ground! She f'ing slams into me like a football player and we both fall on the floor. Man, it hurt so much. Then I remember our English teacher, Mr. Hovannesian, looking down at us and he says 'What the hell are you doing?'"

"I remember you told me that. All I heard was a _thump_," Ashley added.

"Man, I wish I went to 9th grade with you guys!" Gloria complained.

"What else did you guys do?" Caitlin wondered.

"Man, we did so much," Melissa said. "It was so much f'ing fun."

"But of course the beginning of the school year didn't go all that well," Ashley reminded.

"Yeah, especially in 6th period. We were bad…" mentioned Jessica. "Other than that, school was awesome."

"Wasn't Silverado a bad school?" Gloria asked.

"Well, the teachers were great. But it's just the type of people the school gets," Ashley said.

"We did have a lot of riots though. I remember when our English teacher was trying to help stop one of them and he almost got stabbed. Thank God that didn't happen," Melissa mentioned. "Several other teachers helped as well but they didn't get hurt either. Or at least I don't think they did. That riot was bad…"

"Well now that you guys have looked back into your past, want to go to our old middle school?" Caitlin asked.

"Ok," Gloria answered.

They then drove to Mesa Linda Middle School, where they all went and first met each other. They went inside the campus, making sure nobody was there. Then they went to the shade structure and sat at a table near a water fountain. "Wow, our table's still here," Ashley commented.

"Hey, remember when we made up our own radio station?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, I remember that. And then the time when you slipped on the mud when you were chasing what's-his-name?" Gloria questioned with a smile.

"You know what? Shut up!" Melissa ordered, giving her the evil eye. "But—but remember when Ashley bumped into that pole?"

"Oh yeah, that was funny," Gloria laughed. Jessica wanted to know how it happened for she wasn't here when that occurred. "See, Melissa and I were walking home and we were just talking. Ashley was beside us and while we were talking we hear this loud bang. And Ashley's hand was on her face and we just started laughing! Melissa runs away from us and everyone is just asking if she's ok while I'm laughing and Melissa's somewhere else, laughing her ass off. Man those were good times."

"Good times, good times," Melissa repeated with a smile.

Ashley said, "This is also where we met huh G?"

Gloria nodded. "Yep, I remember when we met. I also remember meeting Cait here and you guys said that you met Jess here too."

"I remember in 8th grade when we would always play poker and bet stupid stuff like pennies, food, and pens/pencils in our social studies class."

"I remember that," Melissa mentioned.

"So much happened that year. I wish we could relive 8th grade…" Ashley uttered.

"Is any of this stuff coming back to you?" Melissa asked a few seconds later.

"What?" Gloria wondered.

"I mean, do you remember meeting Ation in MLMS?"

Gloria shook her head in reply. "What about your school Cait?" Jessica asked.

"What about my school?" Caitlin asked.

"Do you want to stop by?" Jessica questioned.

"Yeah I guess," Caitlin answered.

They got back into the car and drove to where Caitlin went for high school. She didn't go to Silverado because it was supposed to be a bad school and she was afraid of bad things happening to her. "So…this is your school?" Gloria asked.

"Yep," Caitlin said.

They walked around the outside of the school. Her high school was a Christian one, right behind a big white church with a red rooftop. "So did you like it?" Gloria asked.

"Yep," Caitlin answered. "A lot happened but if I begin to talk about it, you guys will be so confused."

"Now, let's go on," Melissa urged.

"Where do we go now?" Caitlin asked.

"One last place," Ashley said. "Our elementary school."

They went to Eagle Ranch Elementary, where Melissa and Ashley first met. "Well, it hasn't changed a bit," Ashley noted.

"This school brings back memories too. I'll never forget the day I first came here. This is where I met Ash, Sarah, Amber, Briana, and a lot others," Melissa said.

"I remember too," Ashley said.

"I also remember seeing everyone running away from you," laughed Gloria.

"Yeah, I was always it when we played tag, damn it," Melissa said. "I could never catch them. That was what I hated."

"I also remember hating you," Gloria mentioned, looking at Caitlin. "You were such a big tattletale."

Caitlin smiled. "At least we're friends…somehow."

"Yeah. I don't know how that happened…"

"Guys, its getting a bit late," muttered Jessica.

"Yeah, we should get going," Melissa said.

As they walked back to the car, Ashley asked, "So…you never met Ation in any of these schools?"

Gloria shook her head. Then Ashley stopped. "What's wrong Ash?" Gloria questioned.

"We also knew Ation," Ashley remembered

"No we didn't," Caitlin said.

"Yes we did! We knew him in 8th grade at MLMS. The probable reason is that he left by the time we started 9th grade and never came back. Ation doesn't remember us so he must've gone to Gloria's high school, unless he knew her from long ago like when they were kids, even though I doubt that. Don't you remember?"

"No not really," Caitlin said.

"I do! I remember meeting Ation as well. I don't know how Gloria 'betrayed' Ation, but we did mean things to him too," Melissa admitted with a smile. "That bastard deserved it. He was an f'ing jackass. I don't get why he doesn't remember us, though."

"Well, we should get going," Gloria said. "We'll figure this out when we get back."

They climbed into the car and they all went home after a long and busy day. Once they reached home, they prepared for their final journey. The final journey that might very well claim their lives.

* * *

"Hey doofus! They made a truce with the horses as well," Abby announced.

"What!" Ation demanded.

"Yes," Abby sneered. "Now they know where you are and they're gonna kill you. I'll enjoy that for what you've done to me."

Ation stared at her. "Take her away!" he ordered.

Two big guys tried to take her back to her cell, but she struggled with them. "Hey! Don't be touching me you bastard! I can walk there myself. Jeez!" Abby complained. She left the room with the guards. Ation called for two more guards and told them to make sure his arenas were ready. "It's time to put my plan into action. BWAHAHAHAHA!" Ation laughed.

He had gotten up and was about to leave the room when he tripped on something and fell on his back. "Now it's time for the finale!" someone bellowed.

He saw someone drop a huge object on to him. It hit a very private and painful place. He put his hands between his legs and looked like he was going to cry. He looked up to find Abby and the other guards laughing hysterically. They were crying from all the laughing. "Abby!" Ation said in a squeaky voice.

"Oopsy, did I do that?" Abby said sarcastically. "Gotta go!"

She went to her cell, still giggling, but guards were with her. The guards never liked Ation so they too enjoyed Abby's comeback. They escorted her to her cell and went back to work. Ation stayed on the floor, curled in a tight ball. He finally got up after a several minutes of being on the floor and checked to make sure his arenas were ready. Once his enemies came, he would do all he could to make sure his plan wasn't messed up.


	22. Journey to Ation's Island

Chapter 21: Journey to Ation's Island

"Goddamn it! We have to travel 1, 811 miles just to reach this guy?" Melissa complained the next day when Gloria reminded her about it.

"I know! I know," Gloria said. "Just calm down. I don't know how the hell we're going to get there. None of us can fly that far, not even you."

"Jess, can't you just teleport us there?" Ashley asked.

"No," Jessica replied. "I can't just say 'abra kadabra' and poof you there. I've told you guys a million times. I can only teleport 250 miles!"

"Wait. That's it!" Caitlin yelled. "Melissa, you know that one freaky, ugly form you can turn into?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the compliment," Melissa said sarcastically.

"Well that thing has six wings, so that should mean that it can fly farther. If one pair is tired, you can still use the other two, but it would be better to soar. Then when we only have 250 miles or less, Jess can teleport us," Caitlin explained.

Everyone just stared at her. "What?" Caitlin asked.

"Wow Cait, you do have a brain," Melissa complimented with a smile.

"Hey I'm not that stupid!" Caitlin retorted.

"You sure?"

"At least I'm smarter than you!"

"What?"

Gloria rolled her eyes and yelled, "Goddamn it guys! Let's go!"

* * *

"Let's go dudes," Melissa ordered.

She transformed into her other form, spread all six of her wings, and yelled, "All aboard!"

Ashley and Gloria became vampires and they were about to take off when Caitlin said, "Before we go, we should say a prayer or something like that."

"Why?" Ashley asked.

"Because this might be the last time we see Tranquility. We're going to our final battle with this guy and only God knows if we will return."

"You're right Cait. This could be our last time alive," Gloria said, as much as she hated to admit it.

Everyone agreed with Caitlin and said a silent prayer. They prayed that their friends and family would remain safe; that the city would not fall, and finally that they would return. They soon took off and after a minute or so, they took one last look at Tranquility, hoping against hope that they would return…alive.


	23. Search for Ation

Chapter 22: Search for Ation

"So this is it?" Jessica asked.

"Yep," Gloria said.

They all faced a large black castle with very tall towers. A few of them were hidden above the clouds. "Wow, I wonder what he uses all those towers for," Caitlin thought.

"It's time to end this madness," Jessica said. "How do we get in?"

"Well, we can just walk in there. This Ation guy is so stupid, he didn't even put guards by the entrance," stated Melissa.

"Alright, what are we waiting for?" Caitlin asked.

"Wait you guys! We should be careful," Gloria warned.

"Aw c'mon G, what can this idiot do that'll hurt us when we get there?" Jessica asked.

"Guys trust me," Gloria begged. "You never know what could happen. Maybe he wants us to do that."

"C'mon G, let's just go. I mean, he's more dimwitted than we believed," Melissa said.

"What makes you so damn sure that he's more stupid than we thought!" Gloria retorted.

"Gloria just chill," Ashley questioned.

"I'm sorry but I'm just worried. This is our final battle and we don't know whether this…asshole is smart or not," Gloria replied. "I'm just being more cautious. We don't know what we're facing besides Ation. We don't know if he has allies. We don't know what he's planning. Who knows what this guy can do, especially with me around. It's my fault that I became friends with this guy and didn't tell you. It's my fault that I betrayed him and now I'm putting you guys in danger."

"G, it's not your fault. You didn't remember and you can't blame yourself for that. This could've happened to any of us," Ashley explained. "It's ok if you're being more wary than usual, even if we know this guy is pretty brainless. Your carefulness is what led us this far, besides your plans. That's what makes you a good leader."

"Leader? You guys consider me a leader?" Gloria asked.

"Of course! I thought you knew that. You're strong, smart, wise, caring, careful, and more. You're our leader and you're the only person we all depend on for things. Sure, we depend on each other for separate things, but we depend on you a lot. If you're concerned or just anxious, it's ok. We're all nervous. We're all kinda edgy about what's going to happen. But we all have to stay strong. We have to trust each others instincts. So if you're afraid or just plain out worried and believe that we should think before we take action, then we'll do as you say," Melissa explained.

"Thanks," Gloria said with a smile.

Melissa and Ashley nodded. "Well, you heard her G! You don't feel right about just going in there, so we're with you until the end," Caitlin said, bowing.

Gloria grinned and yelled, "I have a plan." She told the others of her scheme to try to intrude into Ation's stronghold.

* * *

Up in his room, Ation watched his screen as the lone Gloria, whom he knew since childhood, come up and try to cross the cliffs. His castle was split between 2 cliffs and the only way to cross was with the bridge. He saw Gloria get ready to jump to the other side. Unknown to Ation, Gloria was able to jump far because she was a vampire. She jumped at last and was about to reach the other side when a very long serpent with long protruding, jagged teeth jumped from the water surrounding his fortress, snatched her with its teeth, and dragged her into the water below. "Yeah! Who da man? Who da man!" Ation cheered.

His chair fell back hard. He got up quickly but tripped on something else and landed on his stomach. "Ouch!" he yelped.

He was barely getting up when he smacked his head on the bottom of his large computer. Hard enough to knock him unconscious.

* * *

"You see why I thought that he couldn't be that stupid?" Gloria asked.

"So what do we do?" Ashley asked.

"Now he most likely believes that I'm dead and that you guys never came. And if we all go, he could be watching," Gloria explained.

"Well, we have to take in all probability that he will lower his defenses. That would be our only advantage. Question is how do we get in?" Melissa said.

"I know!" Caitlin exclaimed. "We can freeze that water and then bust in through the door."

"We can do that but Ation most certainly believes that Gloria is dead. So we could use this to our advantage. But what can we do?" Jessica asked.

"I got it! We can execute a sneak attack! Jessica can transport us inside and attack from the inside. Or better yet, one of us can create a diversion while everyone else sneaks in. And I think I have the perfect distraction," Melissa said, smiling a devious smile. Melissa discussed her plan with the others and they chose to try it.

"Wow, you really can think," Ashley commented.

"Shut up!" Melissa cried.

"Well, let's begin shall we?" Gloria asked.

* * *

Ation finally got up and checked his computer. He saw a young female outside his castle and she appeared to be waiting for the bridge to be lowered. She wore a blue shirt with a black vest, red pants, and a red bandana. She also had a belt on with a sword in its sheath. He eyed her suspiciously, but turned his attention back into his arenas. He had expected Gloria to come with her friends, but she was foolish enough to under-estimate him and fight him herself. He knew she would be stupid enough to even test his power. He had expected a fight with her to get his revenge but it ended too soon. He was still leaning on the desk and tried to push himself up. But the desk was a bit slippery and he fell again, knocking him unconscious…again.

* * *

Without Ation's order, the guards opened the gate, alert and ready to fight if they needed to. They held their weapons out and the leading one yelled, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Aye, I am—I am…I am Vaec—Vaecitor—" the female stuttered.

She raised her arm as if to stretch and looked at her right hand. "My name is Vaectorfinyairuxo," she pronounced slowly.

"Damn girl, what name did you give Caitlin?" Gloria whispered.

Melissa was hanging on to the wall above the entrance outside with her claws. She was in her 2nd form and she was invisible along with Jessica, Gloria, and Ashley. They kept their voices down. "Hey, it's a name right?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah but you could've chose Sandra or Sara or Amanda not Vaector—Vaerctor—whatever!" Gloria cried.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Ashley asked.

"Hey, it's like in the movies," Melissa said.

"But that's a movie for heaven's sake!" Jessica yelled.

"Just shut up and watch. If it doesn't work you can kill me later!"

They stayed silent. "What's your name?" the guard asked.

"I just said god darn it!" Caitlin shouted. "Me name is Vaectorfinyairuxo." She said her name slowly again.

"Well, what do you want?" the guard asked.

"I am here to—to—do a show lad," Caitlin answered.

"Really?" the guard asked suspiciously. "What kind of show?"

"You think they suspect something already?" Melissa whispered.

"I'll try to tell her to do something different," Jessica said.

She activated her metamorphosis spell and became a bee. She flew around Caitlin's head. Caitlin tried to smack the bug, unaware that it was Jessica. But when she saw the bee she screamed and yelled, "Oh my God! It's a bee!"

"It's me, Jessica!" Jessica yelled in a squeaky voice.

The guards watched Caitlin with strange looks. "Caitlin, we think they're up to something. You'd better do something about this," Jessica explained.

"Ok," Caitlin said.

She caught the guards gazing at her in confusion. Caitlin tried to think of a lie. "Did you know that people inside my head talk to me?" she admitted.

The guards exchanged puzzled looks. "Answer my question…what did you say your name was?" the guard asked yet again. Apparently they forgot again or they didn't hear.

"Mary…Stuart…Baxter," Caitlin replied slowly.

The guard raised a brow. "Why did she change her name?" Melissa asked.

Jessica became invisible again and replied, "Well, she's probably planning to do something more than pretend to do a show."

"When should we sneak in?" Ashley asked.

"We'll give Cait a little more time," Gloria said.

"Didn't you have a long name?" the guard asked.

"No," Caitlin responded.

"So…what are you here for again Ms. Bax—Baxton?" the guard questioned.

"Baxter not Baxton," Caitlin corrected.

"Baxter, what are you here for again?" the guard asked again.

"I don't know."

The guard gave her a confused look. "So what do you want!" he asked.

"I'm…looking for Salad Fingers."

"Salad Fingers? Who's Salad Fingers?"

"A friend."

"Okaaaay. So you're here to find a salad fingers?"

"No, I'm looking for my man."

"Your man? And who is your man?"

"Haku."

Melissa and Ashley started laughing but tried to stay quiet. Gloria and Jessica looked at them weird. Haku was a character from an anime movie called "Spirited Away." He was able to turn into a dragon and Caitlin liked him because he was mysterious, but she liked him as a character. She was playing around when she said he was her "man." "Maybe we should get going," Melissa said, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, let's try now," Gloria said.

Melissa at long last moved but very slowly and as quietly as possible. Pieces of black brick fell down the wall. Some hit one of the guards. Melissa stopped in her tracks. The guard looked up but didn't see anything. He turned his attention back to Caitlin. The guards looked like they were irritated by Caitlin's confusing answers. Melissa continued and finally reached the inside of the castle. She held on to the ceiling. Nobody was in the room. "Ok, let's try to get Caitlin," Gloria whispered. "Can you use your tail?"

"I don't think it's _that_ long," Melissa said. The ceiling was very high up.

"Your tail is like a 30 ft whip," Gloria said in a soft voice. "How can you not reach her!"

"Fine, why don't you get your ass off and I'll try!" Melissa yelled but not loud.

Gloria, Ashley, and Jessica got off and hid near the entrance. Then Melissa slowly exited the room, still invisible, and tried to grab Caitlin, but then stopped. She went back in. "What the hell are you doing?" Ashley demanded.

"I can't do that. Then she'll be floating in mid-air and the guards will alert others," Melissa explained. Then she was visible again. She quickly hid behind the wall. "Damn. The invisibility spell has worn out. What are we going to do?"

"Use your tail to make a signal," Gloria said.

"Why the hell do you want to use my tail? You can use—" Melissa continued before Gloria butt in.

"Would you just do it!"

"Alright, alright hold your horses."

She held out her tail and motioned Caitlin to come. Caitlin saw it and lied, "Oh my God, is that a—a—a red dragon!" She pointed up.

The guards looked to where she was pointing. They looked for a red dragon in the sky. Caitlin saw her chance. She quickly ran into the castle and Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, and Melissa closed the door. The guards weren't on the bridge when they raised it. They were on the other side and were surprised to find the bridge rise. Once they saw the girls, they tried to get back on. But were too late. The bridge was all the way up and the door was closed.

"Those guards were more dimwitted than Ation," Caitlin noted.

"Let's just get started," Gloria said.

They quietly walked into another room but found nobody in it. Ashley observed, "Man, this guy has no guards."

"Which makes it even easier for us," Gloria added.

They continued on with their mission, hoping that wherever Ation was, they would find him and bring an end to this long nightmare.

Ation woke up and felt dizzy at first. But then he felt normal again. He sat down on his chair for a while and felt like taking a nap when suddenly a guard burst through the door and yelled, "Ation, we're being attacked!"

"What? By who!" Ation demanded.

"By Gloria and her friends!" the guard replied.

"What!" Ation yelled. "Get them. Lead them to the battle arena immediately!"

"Yes sir," the guard said.

The guard quickly left to do Ation's bidding. Ation was furious and also confused. He could've sworn that he saw Gloria jump the crevice and get eaten by his sea serpent. He couldn't understand how she got in without him knowing. Then again he was unconscious. But it still didn't explain how she had somehow survived the attack of the sea serpent. It would've taken her forever to climb up the crevice. He watched his screen intently, watching for any signs of Gloria's friends or Gloria herself.

* * *

"Damn, I'm too goddamn tired to continue," Melissa whined.

"We have to," Gloria said. "Even if it takes all day, we have to continue looking for this guy."

"Dude, do you know how long we've been fighting! We've been fighting our asses off for what's felt like 10 hours! We haven't found anything that could lead us to him! We can't go on like this!" Melissa shouted at the top of her lungs.

"You give up too easily. We have to continue," Gloria said.

"Dude, do you have any idea how big this goddamn place is? Those damn towers are like…150 ft tall. There are like 1000 towers and there could be a million rooms in this place. And you expect us to check this place out? Do you know how long it'll take to check this entire place! Only God knows whether we'll find this bastard or not!" Melissa explained.

"You have to admit G, she has a point. We've looked in about 50 rooms and haven't found him or anything that could guide us to him. We're tired G. I know you are too and we can't continue," uttered Caitlin.

"We _can_ continue but we can't go far," Jessica corrected.

"Then we'll try to get info from guards. It should save us some time," Gloria suggested.

"Fine," Melissa agreed.

They fought yet another pack of guards but this time made each and every one of them tell them where Ation was. One of them finally confessed and told them that Ation was in the battle dome, waiting for them to arrive. They received directions and quickly took off. They soon reached their destination and looked for Ation. He was nowhere to be found. "What the hell? The guard told us that Ation was going to be here. Why the hell ain't he here?" Melissa questioned.

"I'm tired," Caitlin admitted.

"So am I," said Ashley.

"G, we can't go on," Jessica said. "We have to rest."

"Let's rest here," Gloria advised.

They sat down on the floor and relaxed for a bit. But then they heard something mechanical rising. They quickly got up and saw a pillar ascend from the ground. A man was standing on the peak. He was wearing a gray sweater with a red shirt on top and brown shorts. He had dark brown hair, but put into six ponytails. They hung on the side of his head. "Man, talk about ugly," Melissa observed. "He looks gay…..Well not that I have a problem with gay people."

"Yeah," Jessica concurred.

"Hello, hello, hello," the man said repeatedly. "I am the beloved Ation."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Caitlin said. "You are not the beloved Ation. People don't even like you."

"He stole that line from 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' but changed it by 2 words," Ashley muttered to herself.

Gloria ignored them and said, "And I am Gloria, but you should know that already. Now Ation, it's time for you to die. You've caused havoc in our home city and caused much pain for others. We will not allow you to continue."

"Oh really?" Ation snickered. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you this but you are the ones to die today. You can't stop me. I'm unbeatable. I'm the best. I am unbeatable!"

"You said unbeatable twice dumbass!" Melissa declared.

Gloria sighed loudly, clearly sick of everyone pointing out stupid things and yelled, "Man can we get to the point! Look Ation, you either surrender or fight!"

"If you want to fight me, you will fight my monsters," Ation explained.

"And what will you do if we refuse?" Caitlin asked.

"If you refuse, I will destroy your precious city," responded Ation.

"And you plan on destroying our city…how?" Jessica asked.

"Thanks to you, I have had time to perfect my master plan and with it, I will destroy your city!" Ation declared.

"And you're thanking us because?" Ashley pursued.

"Because you spent your time doing other things than trying to stop me. So I have had the time to perfect my master plan and with it, I will destroy your city!" Ation declared.

"You just said that," Melissa reminded him.

"My God, we'll fight you! Just get to it already will ya!" Gloria demanded.

"Alright. First…the girl," Ation said.

Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa gave him a strange look. "We're all girls weirdo," Ashley reminded him.

"Well I mean you," Ation corrected.

"Well, be more specific then," Ashley advised.

"Ash, be careful. We don't know what this guy is capable of, despite his stupidity," Gloria warned in a soft voice.

Ashley nodded and walked on the left side of the large field where they were. A hole on the right side opened up and they could hear a platform escalating to the top. Once it reached the top, a monster walked off. It had eight legs, eight red eyes, two large fangs, was grayish black, and was very hairy like a tarantula. It was a large venomous spider. Ashley felt her heart stop. "I know what he's doing!" Gloria announced, once she had figured out Ation's intentions were for these fights. "He's having us fight our biggest fears!"

"That's right!" Ation yelled.

"Who ever thought an idiot would know someone's fears. But how do you know our fears?" Caitlin asked.

"I have my ways," Ation replied. "And I'm not an idiot!"

Gloria and the others turned their attention back to Ashley. "Start the fight!" Ation commanded.


	24. Battle of Fears

Chapter 23: Battle of Fears

Almost instantly, the spider ran towards Ashley. Her eyes became wide with fear and she ran away. "What the hell is she doing? She has to fight that thing!" Melissa shouted.

"Remember, she's afraid of spiders. She's scared as hell right now," Jessica recapped.

"But dude, if she doesn't fight, she will die for sure!" Melissa yelled.

"She's right," Caitlin concurred. "We have to help her somehow."

"Ashley, you have to stand and fight! You'll die if you don't!" Gloria hollered at the top of her lungs.

Ashley heard Gloria but continued running. She knew Gloria was right, but she was terrified. Out of the blue, she felt something wrap around her ankle, causing her to trip. She looked back to see the spider dragging her to it by using its web. "Ashley, get up!" Gloria commanded.

Ashley tried to get the web off her ankle but couldn't. She was scared and wanted the spider to go away. "For heaven's sake, get your fucking ass up and fight! You can't be afraid forever! So get over your goddamn arachnophobia and fight NOW!" Gloria shouted.

"She's right Ashley! Start fighting or die!" Melissa bellowed.

Ashley looked at her friends. She knew she had to fight. She knew that as long as her friends were behind her, she would have the strength to fight. She glared at the spider and mutated into her vampire form. She cut the web with her claws, got up, and screeched loudly. Gloria and the others cheered.

The spider screeched as well. Ashley grabbed it by the fangs with her hands, careful not to touch the venom literally leaking from it like it was spit, and flipped it onto its back. The spider quickly got up and lunged at her, but she quickly got out of the way. Ashley flapped her wings and flew up into the air. Then she swooped down and dug her talons into the spider's flesh. The spider cried out in pain. Ashley started flapping faster and faster to try to get back into the air while clutching the spider. She flew as high as she could and dropped the spider. The spider slammed into the floor on its back.

Ashley landed on the floor. She cautiously approached the spider. _Hey I killed it with one drop, _she thought. _Yet again it could be playing dead._

She stopped when she was two feet away from the spider. She stared at it for a while. Then without warning, the spider sank its fangs into Ashley's leg. It struck her as fast as a snake when it bites its prey. Ashley screeched in pain. She dug both her hands into the spider's face, piercing two of its eyes.

It dug its fangs even deeper into Ashley's leg. Ashley gritted her teeth from the pain. "Duebr hoylkr!" she suddenly yelled out.

A circle appeared on the ground around the large spider. It started to glow a mixture of orange, yellow, and red. When the spider noticed this, it let go of Ashley's leg. Then fire swiftly arose from the circle, engulfing the spider in its fiery wrath. The spider screamed in pain. It fell under its own weight, its legs under its large abdomen. Fire burned at its hair and body. The smell of burnt flesh and smoke filled the air. Ashley became normal again. But she could still feel the sting of pain from the wound, even with her wound healed. Gloria and Melissa helped her off the field. They slowly placed her on the ground. The spider was nowhere to be found once the fire dissipated. All that remained of it was a pile of ash. "Lucky win," Ation noted. He scowled at Gloria and added, "Your turn."

Gloria scowled back and started walking on to the battlefield. "Gloria, be careful," warned Melissa, placing her hand on Gloria's shoulder. "You have to fight at your best and win."

Gloria nodded, removed Melissa's hand, and continued. She stopped on the right side and became a vampire. She stood there, ready to fight. "Meet your nightmare," said Ation with a menacing smile. Another hole appeared on the left and a second monster stood on the platform. It was white, had blue markings around its wrists, a blue crest, and white tail feathers with blue tips. It also had something like small wings on the side of its wrists, but other than that, there were no wings. It screeched loudly. "That's a golden wing striker!" Melissa yelled.

"A what?" Gloria asked.

"A golden wing striker," Melissa repeated. "It's a rare type of bird that is powerful and a sneaky hunter. It's also one of the few birds on Earth that is incapable of flying. Golden wing strikers have many wind and earth powers that easily kill large monsters. Even when it's fighting solo, it can defeat a monster three times its size."

Gloria stared at the powerful bird, but did not show fear on her face. Her fear was buried deep inside her and although she feared birds, she would not allow her fear to be her downfall. As if it could feel her fear, the golden wing striker screeched again and started walking towards her, bringing more fear to her already frantic heart. She took in a lungful of air, exhaled, and also started walking towards the beast. Then out of nowhere, a snake appeared and wrapped itself around Gloria's legs, causing her to trip. She fell on her face, puzzled and already angry. When she looked at her legs, the snake was gone. She became very perplexed about the snake. But when she faced the bird again, it kicked her in the face.

Gloria groaned and covered her face with her hands. Then the great beast kicked her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. Gloria gasped for air and tried to get up. But then the bird grabbed her by the neck and threw her to other side of the arena! She slammed into a wall, cracking it. "That thing's strong," Caitlin remarked.

Gloria flew into the air, injured but ok. She dived at the striker but it jumped and grabbed Gloria by the neck again in mid-air. It then smacked her head into the cement. "Damn! That thing's gonna kill her!" Melissa yelled.

"Why is Gloria taking so long to attack?" Ashley asked.

"She was going to attack but like I said earlier, golden wing strikers are very powerful and sneaky. That includes very fast," Melissa explained.

"Gloria, you have to do something!" Ashley yelled out.

_No shit Ashley!_ Gloria thought. The striker again picked Gloria up and threw her to the side of the arena. "Quite impressive," Melissa commented. "I never realized how powerful and how brutal a striker can be. If Gloria doesn't do something now, she'll die."

The wing striker slowly walked towards Gloria, ready to throw her again. Gloria finally raised her head and saw the wing striker. She struggled to get up but collapsed. The striker was getting closer. "Gloria, get up now!" Jessica cried out. "That thing will continue to smack you around like you're a rag doll!"

Gloria finally got to her feet and tried to beat her wings but noticed tears in the soft wing membrane. She had no choice but to change back to a human and become vampire once again. But there was only one problem: the wing striker was very close now. If she took the chance of changing to human and back to vampire, she could be dead before she got to attack. The striker was a few steps away. Gloria had to think quickly. Then she had an idea. While Melissa had electric powers, Gloria still knew spells that contained electricity. But unlike Melissa, she needed to gain electricity, meaning that she needed a specific amount of electricity to do so. _Birds die from being shocked to death, so if I can lure that bird near an electric source, then maybe I can use the Electric Pool spell. But I need a considerable amount of electricity. Damn you Ation for not having us work together, _Gloria thought.

The wing striker was now ready to once again attack. "Not this time, you motherfucker!" Gloria shouted angrily. "Eskagne calik!"

Gloria suddenly roared a strange noise that sounded like a howl of a wolf. Then within seconds of Gloria's bizarre roar, a black thing broke through the wall behind her and roared loudly. It was none other than a mighty black werewolf! It roared again and jumped at the striker. The bird had no time to react. The werewolf landed on it and held it down with its huge paws. The bird tried to choke the great beast but to no avail. The werewolf threw it across the room like the bird had done to Gloria. They continued their fight as Gloria turned back to normal and searched for a good source of electricity. Unsuccessful at finding any, she tried to think of a way to distract Ation while she went to gain electric power from Melissa or at least get their help to help her find an electric power source. But she noticed that Ation was already distracted by the werewolf and golden wing striker fighting. "Hey Mel, give me your sword!" Gloria ordered.

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"Because I need your electric power to do a spell. Now give it to me or help me find an electric source," Gloria demanded.

"G, you don't have to kill the striker with electricity," Jessica clarified. "Yeah it would cause more damage but use something else. Something else that could kill it instantly."

"Oh I know. Ithiro zhada!" Gloria bellowed.

Suddenly a wave of creeping darkness appeared behind her. "Why couldn't she think of that before?" Ashley asked.

"Who knows? Maybe she was so into this electric idea, she couldn't think of other spells," Jessica guessed.

The darkness rose from the ground and stayed behind Gloria. She saw that the black werewolf was defeated and striker was going after her. She didn't need to show the wave of darkness who her enemy was. It went around Gloria and stood in front of the wing striker, stopping the bird in its tracks. The darkness wave then engulfed the bird with all its power. It then became a sphere and grew smaller in a couple of seconds. The bird tried to escape but couldn't. And soon the dark ball disappeared. Gloria cheered along with the others. She was able to walk to them without help. Ation just growled. "Now you Jessica," he said in an angry voice.

Jessica walked to the field and waited for her match. Gloria and Ashley sat down on the ground to relax for a while. Everyone accompanied both of them as they watched Jessica. She was tense about this battle but she couldn't fail. If she did it would mean everyone's destruction.

Finally a sphere of dark swirling energy appeared in mid-air. An arm slowly came out. And another and another. Soon, six arms protruded from the sphere. Then a tail and legs and finally the entire body. The creature was entirely midnight black and its rib cage and spine could be seen clearly but not exposed. Its face was that of a spider. There were five dark holes where the eyes should've been. Jessica gazed at it with terrified eyes. "Oh shit!" Melissa cursed. "That's Bone Assassin, the Ripper!"

"That's an odd name for that thing," Caitlin remarked.

"Bone Assassin is an undead demon who is clearly a slayer. While this thing can die, it will still bring death to its adversary. Jess has to find a way to prevent death when she wins. Or else she'll die with it," Melissa explained.

"But the undead can't die, can they?" Caitlin asked.

"Even the undead can experience death once more Cait," Gloria answered.

"Jess, be careful!" Ashley warned.

The monster screeched loudly. "Start!" Ation shouted.

Bone Assassin, the Ripper lifted its tail and aimed its tail spike at Jessica. Its tail suddenly lashed out and struck Jessica on the arm. She screamed in agony as it painfully twisted its tail spike while still impaled in her arm. But Jessica did not stay frozen from fear unlike Ashley. She quickly got over it like Gloria and whispered, "Thrysta distyta."

Bone Assassin's tail suddenly came off her arm and it started to shake violently. Jessica smiled in triumph. But she wasn't finished with it yet. She quickly used her healing spell to heal the gash on her arm. Then she held her hands out and yelled out, "Deloi phos!" Blue light circled her and she suddenly transformed into a cybernetic bird. She flew up into the sky like a jet. She fired a fierce stream of water. The force of the water threw the monster back. She swooped down and took hold of the demon's back with her steel claws. The monster yelped in pain loudly. Jessica brought the monster with her as she flew higher using the jet packs attached to her back (her wings acted as a maneuvering tool. It helped her to maneuver herself very easily). She was going at very high speeds and almost reached the top. Bone Assassin once more directed its tail at Jessica. This time it directed it at one of her wings. Its tail spike went into her wing easily, rendering it useless. Sparks flew from the big hole in Jessica's right wing.

Jessica knew she had to do something and fast. For if she didn't she would rapidly lose control and crash. One wing can't maneuver her on its own. And in these speeds, she could easily kill herself. She released the slayer and cried, "Ko'sta me'rna!"

A big pool of green acid covered the floor where Bone Assassin would land. It tried to do what it could to save itself. But it didn't react quickly enough. It fell into the pool, letting out a piercing screech of agony. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, making everyone almost sick to their stomachs. Jessica became normal again but she hadn't forgotten what Melissa had said. She was already prepared to prevent Bone Assassin's special ability. A black ball arose from the pool of acid. It headed towards Jessica like a bullet heading for its target. "Pomnuria!" Jessica bellowed.

Wind started to gather together to become something like a tornado. But this one stopped the small dark ball and instantly destroyed it. Then it dissipated. She slowly walked back to the sidelines to her friends. Ation once again clenched his teeth in anger and announced, "Caitlin your turn!"

Caitlin became a pirate and walked to the field like everyone else. Across from her, like all the monsters before Bone Assassin, a black hole appeared and a platform was rising to the surface. This one carried a big, bulky, blue bear with dark green eyes and blue calws. It roared at full volume. Caitlin was sort of puzzled. True, she feared bears but she expected a monster like Bone Assassin or the golden wing striker. "Well, this looks easy enough," said Gloria.

"It's like what they always say Gloria," Jessica added. "Looks can be deceiving."

The bear roared again, trying to get Caitlin to do something. Caitlin stood there, petrified by the bear. She held Zarok out in front of her in an upright position. The bear got down on all four legs and charged at Caitlin. Caitlin leaped into the air to avoid the bear but she ended up landing on its back. The bear saw this and tried to get her off in one of the most brutal of ways. It ran to a wall and literally _slammed_ its back into the wall. Caitlin was hit hard and jumped off its back as soon as she could. She was right next to it now. The bear fell to the ground, temporarily weakened by the body slam. Caitlin saw her opportunity. She held out Zarok and blasted the bear with an icy blast. The blast froze nearly half of its body. The bear growled in pain and looked at its frozen body. It then spit a long coned stream of water. The water started to melt away the ice swiftly. Caitlin watched, horrified, as the water ate away the ice. She felt weak and helpless. Her ice powers were useless against the bear's water attacks but she wasn't going to give up just yet. The ice was gone, allowing the bear to move again. The bear gazed at Caitlin with furious eyes. It got up and roared yet again. Caitlin leaped into the air again and fired a storm of rocks at the bear. The rocks landed on the bear. It roared a cry of torment while more rocks piled up on top of it.

Caitlin stared at the big pile of rocks. When she saw no movement, she felt a wave of relief. "Alright, you did it Caitlin!" Ashley cheered.

Caitlin smiled along with the others and started walking towards them. Ation smiled along with them. But not a smile of relief and cheerfulness. It was a sinister smile. And there was a very good reason why he was smiling that way. The bear wasn't finished.

Caitlin suddenly heard the rocks moving. She looked back and saw the rocks moving. But the bear couldn't be alive still…could it? She wondered. Then a stream of water erupted from the pile of rocks. The force of the water pushed many of the rocks away and some flew into the air. Caitlin, taken by surprise, quickly avoided all the incoming rocks. Once it was finally over, she turned around and faced the bear, injured but ok. The bear snarled angrily at Caitlin and ran towards her. She dodged as fast as she could. But before she could do anything else, a large pool of water appeared right under her feet. She fell inside and struggled to get to the surface. Because of the lack of air, she started to go faster. The puddle of water was extremely deep, like the ocean, and by the time she was close to the top, her lungs felt like they were going to explode. But then darkness started to envelop the surface like an eclipse when it arrives and covers the sun. Caitlin tried to swim faster but when she reached the surface, it was blocked by a huge stone. She tried to move it but it was too heavy. And she was running out of time.

Back on the surface, the bear held the rock down. It wasn't about to let Caitlin escape from this one. Gloria was extremely worried. She knew Caitlin could drown if she couldn't remove the rock. But she couldn't do anything about it unless she could find a way to distract Ation again and try to help. Ashley placed her hand on Gloria's shoulder. She could feel Gloria's uneasiness. "Don't worry about Caitlin, Gloria. She's been in situations just as bad as this and she managed to pull through on her own," Ashley said in a soft voice.

Gloria didn't feel any better. But she knew Ashley was right. Caitlin had been in worse situations than this and she was able to pull through alone. She watched helplessly as the bear held the rock down, slowly killing Caitlin.

Under the water, Caitlin thought that she might finally die from drowning. Her lungs felt like they had already burst. She couldn't find any other way out. The floor was completely concrete. Then she had an idea. But she needed to open her mouth and try to speak underwater. It was a risk she was willing to take. She finally opened her mouth and said "Boetq istalri!"

Luckily, a water tornado began to form with Caitlin in it. Then it erupted from the ground in a fury of whirling water, sending the bear and the large rock into the air. Caitlin swirled inside the tornado, desperate for air. Jessica saw Caitlin and quickly canceled the spell. The tornado degenerated itself, sending Caitlin to the right side. She slid on the smooth field, leaving a trail of water behind her. Caitlin tried to take in a breath of fresh air, but instead started chocking up water. She spit out lots of water and struggled to breathe. The bear landed on the ground on its back, hard. Hard enough to break its spine, including its neck, and kill it. Caitlin finally got her first big breath of air. She was totally soaked and started to shiver violently from the cold. Jessica ran to her and helped her. Caitlin sat on the ground and Melissa quickly created a fire to warm Caitlin up.

Ation slammed his fist on the metal bar surrounding him. He clenched his teeth in fury. Melissa didn't wait for him to tell her to be ready. She walked to the field and transformed. Then she stood prepared. Ation didn't say anything but snapped his fingers. Something slithered from out of the ground. This monster was bony white with three big spikes that were curved back and had serrated undersides. It had a five foot red needle sticking out from the middle of its face along with two blue eyes surrounding it. At the end of its tail, it had a blue tail spike curved like a hook. The strange creature didn't screech or anything like the creatures before it. It almost instantly attack with its tail spike, giving Melissa barely any time to react. She evaded its attack by mere inches.

Before she could do anything else, the monster pierced her side with its tail spike. Melissa groaned loudly. "What is that thing? And how is it supposed to be something Mel's afraid of?" Ashley asked.

"That thing's a drill bug. It's a venomous monster, which is why Ation sent that thing against her," Gloria explained. "It has very potent venom."

"How d—do y—you know?" Caitlin stuttered, still cold.

"I have my ways," Gloria answered.

Melissa grabbed the drill bug with her jaws and threw it to the other side of the field. Electricity started to gather to become a sphere inside her jaws. She opened her mouth and shot the sphere of blue electricity. The ball electrocuted the drill bug and it fell to the ground. She approached the fallen bug cautiously. Gloria watched from the sidelines as Melissa got closer to the beast. She could see her chest swelling, a sign that she was charging up her breath weapon. Melissa started to bare her teeth. Fire started to seep from her mouth. She was about to fire when the drill bug suddenly sank its red needle into Melissa's chest as fast as a striking viper. Melissa roared in great pain and grasped the monster tightly, but drill bug closed its serrated spikes on her to hold on. The serrated spikes were sharp enough to pierce through Melissa's tough scales.

She roared in pain and tried to grasp drill bug's body. But it kept squirming around, making it tougher it grab it. She finally grabbed it and got it off her. She threw it far away from her. Drill bug wiggled like a worm and finally got up again. Melissa stared at it with furious eyes. She charged at it and lowered her head to head butt it but, without warning, started to slow down. Then she abruptly stopped. Her vision was slowly getting bad. She started breathing heavily as she tried to look for the drill bug. "What the hell's going on?" Jessica wondered.

"When drill bug injected its venom in Melissa's chest, it sped up the venom. The venom needs to target the heart to kill the target. While it heads towards the heart, it starts to disable any other body functions like vision and others. It targets the lungs and the other important organs inside the body to slow the victim down. And once it reaches the heart, it means death for the victim. If Melissa doesn't hurry and finish this fight, she'll die," Gloria clarified.

"Have you had an experience with this thing?" Caitlin questioned.

"I'll tell you later," Gloria replied.

Despite her diminishing vision and weakened muscles, she wrapped her long tail around drill bug's long body, piercing its hard segmented body with her own spikes on the side of her tail. Though its own spikes were stabbing her, she ignored the pain and threw it to the other side of the field. She looked like she was loosing her balance. She started moving from left to right as if she was dizzy. She shook her head to stop it and stared furiously at drill bug. "If I die, you're coming with me, you goddamn bastard!" she cried.

She opened her jaws wide and electric sparks once again started to fly around her jaws. One more orb of blue electricity formed and started to expand as more electricity was gathered. Bolts of electricity appeared from the ground and held drill bug in its place. It tried to twist and squirm out of the bolts' grasp but failed. The electric orb grew and Melissa finally fired. But it wasn't an orb anymore. Now it was a wide and long beam of electricity. It blasted drill bug with so much force, drill bug's black shadow-like figure literally ripped apart like paper. The beam also blasted the wall behind it, causing it to collapse. Then as fast as the beam was fired, it was over. Drill bug was gone and only clouds of dirt or smoke from the collapsed walls remained. "No!" Ation yelled.

"Yes, you did it Mel! We won!" Gloria cheered.

But Melissa did not return the cheer. Her eyes were half open and she was moving from side to side again. Then she fell to her side. "Ha, ha, ha! Drill bug may be dead, but your friend is going to die with it!" cried Ation, smiling.

Like Caitlin, Melissa was running out of time. The venom had done its job and was going to finish her off. She could not think of any spells that could possibly get rid of the poison. Gloria and Jessica ran to her while Ashley stayed with Caitlin, who was still cold but thanks to her friends, she escaped from near death.

Melissa's eyes were almost closed and her breathing had slowed even more by the time Gloria and Jessica reached her. "Can you do anything Jess?" Gloria asked.

"Yes. The only way is to use a spell called Abolish Poison," Jessica answered. "Let's hope I have enough energy."

She held her hand out and activated the Abolish Poison spell. A green orb came out of the dragon's chest and dissipated several seconds later. "What!" Ation shouted eyes wide with surprise and anger.

Melissa became human again and got up. "Are you ok?" Gloria asked.

"Yeah, just a little dazed," Melissa answered. "Thanks guys."

Gloria smiled and nodded in reply. Then she glared at Ation and said, "Seems like not even your most powerful monsters can defeat us Ation. As long as we are friends, we have everyone's back and we will stop at nothing to help each other when needed." Caitlin and Ashley joined Melissa and Jessica and also gave Ation angry looks. "Our friendship is more powerful than your pathetic monsters. And there's nothing you can do to stop us! We will stop you from taking over our city and from doing any harm to any innocent being on Earth!"

"Yeah, you bastard! We'll kill you for the hell you put us through!" Melissa shouted.

"And there's nothing you can do to stop us!" Ashley added.

Ation started laughing in a very weird way. "Do you really think it's over yet? I'm still gonna get my revenge on you Gloria by killing you and your friends and taking over Tranquility and killing its citizens and taking over any other monsters and—"

"Jesus Christ Ation, can you stop saying 'and'!" Caitlin demanded.

Ignoring Caitlin, Ation continued, "Do you remember how we met Gloria?"

"Why should I?" Gloria responded.

"Well I do remember," Ation continued. "I remember when I was only seven years old and you were seven as well. I was the new kid of La Puente. I lived a few houses away from you. When I first went to the elementary school, I was the loner. But you…you decided to become friends with me. I was thrilled. You were one of the best people I had ever known. You wouldn't make fun of me like other people did. You were always playing with me and I could always talk to you. We were the best of friends. Until that day…

"I remember that after a while, you began to avoid me. Then sometimes, even try to hide from me. I did not understand why, but I continued to try and get you. I thought it was a game until that day when you told you did not want to be my friend anymore. You said I bragged too much, that I was narcissistic, that I was stupid, and that you couldn't believe that we were friends. You stomped off, angry. I was deeply hurt by what you said. That night and the next few nights to follow, I could not sleep. I could not stop thinking about what you said. I began to hate you. My hatred grew as time went by. Ever since that day, I've been trying to think of a way to get my revenge. And finally the day has come. Gloria, my master plan was all created to kill you for what you did to me. My master plan was created by all my hatred towards you. Now you will pay greatly for what you have done!"

Gloria could not believe what the man was telling her. She didn't want to believe that she did a cruel thing to him when they were younger. She finally figured it out. This entire plan was intended to kill her and her alone. He didn't care about what happened to her friends. He only killed the other people to lead her closer to him. They might have betrayed him or they might have been innocent. Either way, it led her to him. And now she and her friends were the only force that could stop him.

"Finally...after years of developing the perfect plan, I will unleash the final weapon!" Ation yelled in triumph. "Your pathetic friendship will not be able to stand up against my creation! The mightiest beast of all!"

Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, Caitlin, and Jessica could feel that something vast was coming. They could hear loud roaring. "Now meet…Cyberdemon!" Ation announced.

Something burst through the wall behind Ation. It was an immense monster, about 45 ft tall. It had huge bulging muscles; dark bone colored segmented horns that curved forward and towards each other, armored hoofed feet, and two muscular arms, the right ending with a rocket launcher and the left ending with five sharp claws. It had armor on its head, chest, and hip. It also had a short tail. "Say hello to Cyberdemon! He alone will help me take over your pathetic city and the rest of the world," Ation yelled, "Unless of course, you can defeat him."

Nobody responded or moved. The huge beast named Cyberdemon opened his mouth and a red gas came out. The gas surrounded Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, Caitlin, and Jessica, causing them to pass out. "Perfect," Ation snickered. "Put them in the dungeon."

Five guards came out and carried the five girls to the dungeon. They put them in a single cell. "Now Cyberdemon," Ation continued, staring at the great beast, "It's time to take over the world! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Cyberdemon roared a deep and terrifying roar. Now it was finally time to take over Tranquility and the entire world.


	25. Unexpected Ally

Chapter 24: Unexpected Ally

Caitlin awoke to find herself in a fairly dark place with very little light. Only a beam of light existed, which came from a little crack in the wall. The bars of the room were actually red lasers that could easily burn anything that touches it. She heard the others talking and something banging quite hard on one of the walls. She got up and realized that they were inside a cell. "Hey Cait," greeted Gloria.

"What do you mean 'Hey Cait'? We're stuck in a goddamn cell and all you say is 'Hey Cait' as if it's a good day!" Melissa shouted harshly.

"Melissa, shut your fucking mouth! I'm trying to keep everyone calm!" Gloria interrupted. Melissa turned her back on Gloria, but not without giving her a furious look. She went back to banging her head on the wall. "Why are you doing that?" questioned Caitlin, confused.

"Because we made a stupid mistake. _I_ made a stupid mistake. And now I regret even standing there like an idiot," Melissa answered.

"You weren't the only one," Ashley added.

Ashley was angry and was sitting on the ground. Jessica's knees were near her face and it looked like she was crying or was previously crying. "I know we're stuck. I'm just trying to get you guys calm so we can—" Gloria continued.

"Calm? Calm? How the hell are we supposed to stay calm! Our city is about to be destroyed until nothing is left except smithereens, the people we've grown to know and love will die, and all you can do is try to get us from going crazy!" Melissa shouted in uncontrollable rage.

This made Gloria even more infuriated. "I'm trying to do the best I can! I know there's a way out! We just need to think of a plan!"

"What the hell are we supposed to do? Say abra kadara and hope for a miracle!"

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"I don't see you doing anything that could help us get out of this! All you're doing is banging your head on the wall like a freakin' dumbass! All you're doing is yelling! That really outta make everyone feel better!"

"How the hell are we supposed to stay calm? We're stuck in a fucking dungeon with nearly no chance of escape while that stupid bastard goes off and destroys our city and the rest of the world!"

"That's your problem Melissa! You give up to easily! You let your anger take over. You don't use your brain! You use your anger to help you! And you get pissed off for stupid things! You can't get mad at me for not being able to think of a plan! You wouldn't even be able to think of a goddamn plan! So don't take the blame on me!"

"Is that so? Well, if you think you're the best here, why not think of a fucking plan now! Yes I admit it! I do get angry for stupid things! But this time, I'm not about to let that bastard kill _my _family and _my _friends. You should be worried about them as well. This isn't about us! It's about them!"

"Yes, I know that! I know we need to think of our friends and family. But we need to be able to work together instead of try to slit each other's throats! Instead of yelling, we need to think together. But we won't get anywhere if you are fucking yelling at me!"

"For heaven's sake just STOP!" Caitlin yelled at the top of her lungs.

Gloria and Melissa finally stopped and stared at Caitlin. "We won't get anywhere if _both_ of you are arguing! We have a destiny. And that destiny is to protect the world from destruction at all costs. And we won't fulfill it if you two are just yelling at each other and are ready to kill each other! Now…are we going to stop arguing or _let _the world be taken over?"

Gloria and Melissa looked at each other. Gloria sighed loudly and said, "You're right Caitlin. We shouldn't be fighting. We should be thinking of a way to get out." She held her hand out. "So I'm sorry for arguing with you, Melissa."

Melissa looked at Gloria's outstretched hand and then looked back at her. She smiled and said, "Fine. I'm sorry as well. We can argue afterwards."

"You've got yourself a deal," said Gloria with a small smile. They both shook hands at last.

"Yay, we're a team again!" Caitlin cheered.

"Nothing can separate us now. We'll be friends forever and nothing can shatter that friendship, not even Ation or that Cyberdemon," added Jessica, finally getting up. She held her hand out. Everyone placed her hand on hers.

"Yeah!" they shouted in unison.

"Now let's get out of here!" Ashley cried.

With their spirits and hope revived again, they did all they could to escape from the prison. For nearly an hour, they tried using their spells, powers, their forms, and other things. But nothing worked. The cell bars burned anything and had a hidden shield in front of the bars. The walls were as hard as never-ending layers of steel. They stopped and took a break. "We can't stop now," Ashley said.

"But c'mon, not even _I_ could get through those damn walls or that shield!" Melissa exclaimed.

"We can't give up though. We have to—" Gloria was interrupted by a strange noise, like something very heavy was walking on the ceiling. So heavy in fact, small rocks started to fall from the ceiling. "Is that a good thing?" Caitlin questioned.

"I don't believe so," Ashley uttered.

Then a piece of the ceiling was rising and was soon thrown away by an unidentified person. Or more like unidentified black _dragon_. The dragon's head peeked into the hole and inquired with a toothy smile, "Did you miss me?"

Nobody recognized the dragon except Melissa. "Craig! Thank the gods you're here!" she exclaimed.

"That's Craig?" wondered Jessica.

"Of course it's me. You act as if you've never seen me like this," commented Craig.

"Craig, how'd you find us?" questioned Ashley.

"And how did you break the ceiling when we were unable to?" Melissa added.

"The walls are weak from the outside. As for how I found you, I have my ways," answered Craig.

"C'mon! We need to get to Tranquility. Let's make haste!" Gloria declared.

Craig planted his tail inside the cell for Gloria and the others to use as a rope to get out. But they heard one more person inside the cell. The person's pleas were barely audible. "Jessica, see who it is," Gloria ordered.

Jessica slid down Craig's tail. Her eyes scanned the entire room but she couldn't see anyone. The lack of light in the entire dungeon affected her vision. Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the darkness. "Hey, I'm in a cell three cells across from you," the girl said.

"Alright, we'll be there in a sec," Jessica declared.

Craig raised his tail and Jessica pinpointed where the girl was. Craig busted the ceiling and got the girl out. She was gently placed outside by the hole he created. Dirt covered her face and clothes. She held a rat in her hand, whose white coat was also dirty. The girl's hair was messy and looked tangled. It looked like she had been in the cell for a very long time. "Who are you?" Ashley asked.

"I'm Abby. I _used_ to be Ation's servant," replied the girl.

"And he left you in that cell to die!" demanded Jessica.

Abby nodded in reply. Jessica grew very angry and uttered, "We're going to do all we can to defeat this guy. We'll make sure we get our revenge."

"Thanks," Abby said.

Everyone climbed on to Craig's back and he flew them to Tranquility, where Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica would have their final confrontation with Ation. And this time, only one team would make it out alive while the other faced death.


	26. The Final Battle

Chapter 25: Gloria, Caitlin, Melissa, Ashley, and Jessica VS Ation and Cyberdemon: The Final Battle

Cyberdemon smashed buildings and stomped on cars. He used his rocket launcher to blast larger buildings and kill people. He wrecked havoc in the formerly peaceful city of Tranquility. Ation stood on his left shoulder and held on to his horn. He was amused by the people trying to escape or trying to hurt Cyberdemon. "Death is inevitable for all you pitiful humans," Ation declared. "You'll never be able to defeat my awesome beast! Nobody can stop us now!"

"Think again, you bastard!" someone yelled from behind.

He took a quick peek behind him and saw Gloria and the others heading towards him on a black dragon. "What! How did they escape?" Ation demanded.

"Your stupid cell couldn't hold us in!" responded Ashley.

"You're already too late! Crush them!" Ation commanded.

Cyberdemon turned around and backslapped them to the ground with his left hand. They hit the ground a few miles away from Cyberdemon. They all got up and Gloria ordered Craig to take Abby to a safe place and protect her. Craig did what he was told, took Abby, and flew farther away. True, Cyberdemon was big and powerful, but his extreme size and heavy armor slowed him down. Gloria and the others ran as far as they could. They were nearly a mile away. "What…are we going…to do…now?" Melissa managed to choke out.

Gloria gasped, "We…have to fight…it."

Everyone was still gasping for air. "But he's too powerful!" Caitlin reminded her.

"It doesn't matter! Tranquility is depending on us! The world is depending on us. It's better to die trying than to die doing nothing. We have to fight to the death. It all comes down to this final battle. So let this count!" Gloria continued.

Unknown to all five girls, Duke, Leon, James, Orlando, and Johnny were running away when they saw them standing there and looking at Cyberdemon. "What the hell are they doing?" Orlando demanded.

"Why aren't they running?" James wondered.

Duke and Leon soon realized what they were planning on doing. They knew that Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, Caitlin, and Jessica would fight the beast. Unexpectedly, all five girls altered their bodies to become their true forms. Orlando, Johnny, and James were filled with awe as they watched the people they loved transform right before their eyes. Duke and Leon did not show the same expression. They showed worry for they knew that they would fight to the death and they weren't sure if they would come back alive. Orlando screamed at the top of his lungs. Ashley heard him and turned around to see all five of them. "Damn!" she cursed.

Everyone else turned around and was just as surprised as the three men. "What the hell are they doing? They should be running away!" uttered Caitlin.

"It doesn't matter! They've found out about our secret. But we need to get going NOW!" Gloria shouted.

Ashley and Gloria took flight while Caitlin and Jessica got on to Melissa's back. But she didn't move. "Melissa, what are you waiting for?" Jessica questioned.

"Just wait," Melissa answered.

She became her other draconic form. She beat all six of her wings and finally took flight. "Yeehaw!" Caitlin yelled happily.

"Caitlin, you're a pirate, not a cowgirl," Jessica noted.

Duke watched them leave and whispered to himself, "Go get 'em, girls."

Melissa soon flew past Gloria and Ashley and flew towards Cyberdemon. Caitlin got up and took out her sword. She took aim at Cyberdemon's right arm and fired a storm of sharp ice crystals. The beast roared in pain and directed his rocket launcher at Jessica, Caitlin, and Melissa. He fired a rocket at them. Duke, Leon, Johnny, Orlando, and James were watching on the rooftop of a tall building. Craig had brought them there once he realized who they were and he went away to help Abby. They saw the rocket actually _following_ Jessica, Caitlin, and Melissa as she tried to lose it. Ashley and Gloria also witnessed this. "Why is that rocket following us?" Jessica questioned.

"Because it's a directed rocket, meaning that once Cyberdemon fires at us, it will follow us until it explodes itself," Melissa answered.

"You freakin' know-it-all!" Caitlin commented.

"I am NOT a know-it-all! We have more things to think about anyways!" Melissa shouted. She flew as fast as she could but she couldn't lose it. She was flying too fast; she was using up her energy at a rapid rate. She started to slow drastically. "What is going on?" asked Jessica.

"I'm using too much energy. We have to destroy that thing. Soon I'll have to land somewhere," explained Melissa.

"You can't stop now!" Caitlin yelled.

But Melissa ended up stopping. The rocket was only a few feet away. "What are you doing!" Caitlin exclaimed.

Melissa didn't move or reply. She just glared at the rocket and then closed her eyes as if she were ready to be killed. In a matter of seconds, the rocket hit its targets. "NOOO!" Gloria and Ashley shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Jessica!" Leon yelled from the rooftop.

The others gasped and Duke fell to his knees, speechless. Ashley and Gloria were silent. Cyberdemon roared and Ation laughed.

"I've wiped out three of your friends already, Gloria. Now it's only you and your friend. It'll be impossible to defeat me with you two alone. Unless you'll still be foolish enough to continue," Ation sneered.

"Your monster may be powerful, but he's not invincible!" roared Gloria.

She and Ashley flew towards him swiftly, ready to gain revenge for their friends.

* * *

Caitlin opened her eyes to find herself inside a sphere of electricity. Outside, it, it was completely dark. She was still on Melissa's back and was still sitting in front of Jessica. She too opened her eyes. The darkness outside the sphere started to clear up. Beyond the darkness, she could barely see Ation and Cyberdemon and Ashley and Gloria flying towards them. _We…survived? _she thought. "Are you ok Mel?" she asked.

"Yes I am Cait," Melissa answered.

"How did we survive?" questioned Jessica.

"I activated an electric shield before we got hit. That's one reason why I stopped," Melissa replied. Lowering her voice, she added, "Now guys, be as quiet as you can and don't do anything. I activated invisibility. Once I'm on, you guys get off and cause as much damage as you can."

Caitlin and Jessica nodded. Melissa moved silently towards Cyberdemon. She immediately planted her dragon claws into Cyberdemon's flesh and used her four arms to continuously slash him. Blood started to seep out of the numerous gashes. Cyberdemon screamed in pain and tried to get her off. The perplexed Ashley and Gloria stopped in their tracks and watched Cyberdemon try to get an unseen thing off his back. Jessica and Caitlin got off and started creating damage of their own. Caitlin stabbed Cyberdemon's flesh while Jessica's acid pool spell burned him. Skin started to melt away and blood squirted from the sword wounds. "Guys, climb on now!" Melissa roared.

* * *

Jessica and Caitlin jumped back on her back. Melissa quickly got off and flew in front of Cyberdemon. She charged up her electric attack. Caitlin charged up a rock attack and Jessica got a wind attack ready. As fast as they had charged up their attack, they fired a combination of electricity, earth, and wind, blasting Cyberdemon's unprotected face. He bellowed in pain and fell on his back. The three girls revealed themselves among everyone. "Caitlin, Jessica, Melissa, you're alive! We thought you were dead," Ashley happily welcomed.

"Everyone did, but we have a job to finish," Jessica reminded her.

Abruptly they were all hit with a hard metal object and separately slammed into surrounding buildings. Cyberdemon had gotten up and slammed them with his rocket launcher. Ation, on the other hand, fell off the demon's shoulder. Now he was on the ground but he found a place to continue watching. Ashley shook off the debris and screeched loudly. Her screech was completely deafeningly. It disrupted Cyberdemon's hearing briefly, giving the others a chance to attack from behind without him knowing. They all fired a mixture of fire, electricity, and darkness creating great pain for the creature. Gloria circled around and took aim at Cyberdemon's face. She saw the real damage of Melissa's, Caitlin's, and Jessica's combined attack. His face was scarred with Melissa's electricity, bruised by Caitlin's rocks, and just damaged by Jessica's wind. She ignored Cyberdemon's battered face and aimed for Cyberdemon's eye. She folded her wings and dived after her target. Then when she was a few inches away, she spread her wings, hovered, and stretched out her talons. She planted her claws on Cyberdemon's right eye, making it explode like a balloon. Blood started gushing from the painful injury.

Cyberdemon grabbed Gloria and tried to squeeze the life out of her. Melissa growled and head butt him in the stomach with full force. Cyberdemon was literally shoved back a number of feet away. He let go of Gloria before he hit the ground. Ashley flew down and fired numerous dark spheres at Cyberdemon while he was down. Gloria held out her hand and lifted some kind of car with her dark powers. She threw it at Cyberdemon's face. It exploded on him, causing more pain then before.

Cyberdemon got up, furious, and blasted Melissa with a rocket. She didn't respond quickly enough. An explosion rocked the skies. She fell from the sky in a ball of smoke. She smacked into the ground on her chest. She failed to get up soon after. Ashley gasped and looked fiercely at Cyberdemon and fired an arrow of darkness, blasting his side. It was followed by another dark ball that would actually grow as it got closer. Once it struck him, Cyberdemon fell on his back, smashing buildings and killing more people. She temporarily closed her wings and opened it again. Dark bats flew out and attacked Cyberdemon. He smacked them, killing them one by one. They bit him repeatedly but disappeared after a few minutes. It turned out that that the dark bats were only made with darkness, made to last for only a few minutes. He bared his teeth and growled the throated growl of a kill, soon to be killed. He opened his mouth and fired a fireball, a hurling mass of fiery flames of Hell. Ashley wouldn't have time to move at all. The ball was moving like a shooting star. "No! I'm not going to let you hurt another friend!" Gloria bellowed. She flew in front of Ashley and took the hit herself.

Like Melissa, Gloria fell from the sky in a ball of smoke. She landed hard on her back, a few feet away from Melissa. "Gloria!" Ashley yelled in worry.

Caitlin and Jessica finally regained consciousness (because they are humans, it takes longer for them to wake up when they lose consciousness. As monsters, Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa can wake up faster) and saw Gloria and Melissa on the ground. "Are they dead?" Caitlin asked.

"Who knows? But let's not wait for that thing to kill them if they're alive!" Jessica yelled.

She got up and activated her metamorphic spell. Her body mutated into that of a gryphon and flew towards Cyberdemon. She opened her beak and wind started to gather to create a sphere of wind. She fired it at Cyberdemon but before it hit, Cyberdemon fired a large fireball. It was his biggest mistake. The fireball ended up amalgamating its fire power with the wind. It created yet another fireball but with the combination of wind and fire. It blasted Cyberdemon's face with full force.

It roared loudly in pain. Once the smoke had cleared, Jessica saw his face. The fire had burned off skin and only burnt flesh was revealed. Skin was still peeling off from the heat of the fire. Jessica flew higher and dived towards Cyberdemon like an arrow. She tucked her wings to gain more speed. She held out her paw and revealed her sharp, curved claws. She slashed Cyberdemon's side as she passed him. She quickly turned and slashed him again. He became angry and whacked Jessica in the stomach with a swift, sharp blow using his hand. Jessica's spine was broken beyond repair, rendering her motionless. She slid on the ground and didn't move. "No!" Ashley shouted.

She flew towards Cyberdemon and started to gather dark energy. She fired but Cyberdemon blocked it with his rocket launcher. Ashley moved out of his way and was about to go behind him when Cyberdemon grabbed her with his hand and threw to the ground. Caitlin growled in anger, leaped on to the roof of a building, and powered up her own attack. She shot a few big rocks at him. He broke every single rock she fired. She did it again but this time from behind. The rocks blasted the metal armor on his back, almost making him trip. But he firmly held his balance. Sparks flew from the damaged armor though. The armor was dented in countless places.

Before she would attack again, she activated a spell that involved thorny vines wrapping around Cyberdemon's legs and holding him in place as well as hurting him. She emitted a beam of ice from her blade at Cyberdemon. Cyberdemon fired a stream of fire. Both beams of fire and ice met between Caitlin and Cyberdemon. They both tried to keep the opposing attack away from them. But Caitlin was losing. She put more power in her attack, which started to _freeze_ the fire. _It seems the laws of physics have changed and this change is on my side,_ Caitlin thought.

However, Cyberdemon increased his fire power as well, instantaneously melting the ice. Caitlin couldn't hold on any longer. The fire blasted the building, throwing her to the ground like everyone else before her. Cyberdemon once again roared victoriously once Caitlin was down. Ation cheered in his place on the roof. Cyberdemon walked towards him to pick him up again, leaving the five seriously wounded girls behind, just for a few minutes.

At that moment, Melissa finally woke up, raising her head high, now alert and aware of where she was now. She shook her head to fully wake up. "Damn, what the hell hap—" A wave of terrible pain erupted from her body as she tried to get up. She roared loudly and laid her head back down, suddenly remembering about the rocket Cyberdemon had fired. She looked at herself and saw the damage the rocket had done. Two of her wings were blown clean off, as were her mechanical arms. Sparks flickered from both nearly gone arms. Blood gushed down her side where the two missing wings were. Wing membrane from the remaining four was severely burned. The rocket's extreme heat made her nearly skinless. Some of her flesh was as black as ash. Some scales survived but were now black. Melissa turned her head to look at her friends, ignoring the pain, and saw that everyone else weren't doing so well themselves. Gloria's wing was nearly burnt off and the soft membrane was severely burned like her own. And like Melissa, much of Gloria's flesh was open to the elements. Her torso sustained the most damage from, unknown to Melissa, the fireball that had blasted her.

Jessica was also in a bad state. She was in the form of a gryphon and she seemed like a rag doll. The obvious broken spinal cord was literally sticking out from her back. She was lying vertically on her side, all four of her legs spread out, her wings extended to its full length. Her back was also scraped from sliding on the rough ground. Dirt had visibly come into contact with the painful abrasion; specks of dirt were stuck on it like an insect caught on sticky paper. Ashley had suffered much from a powerful impact. The ground around her was cracked and it looked like the ground was going to engulf her whole. She was lying on her stomach and was stuck in a very deep hole. The impact did considerable damage to her upper body. Her rib cage and kneecaps were shattered, along with some of her skull. She was barely breathing. Caitlin didn't go through a lot of very painful injuries, but endured some nevertheless. She too was burned but because she had used the ice beam to try to stop the fire, the ice somehow cooled the heat of the blow. But she had burns mostly on her upper body, arms, and face.

Melissa heard a pained groan and realized that it was Gloria. "Are you ok Gloria?" she asked.

"I think I am," Gloria answered, slowly. She tried to move but felt too much pain all over, so she stayed still. She could see Cyberdemon walking towards them with Ation standing on his shoulder once more, smiling and laughing at his helpless and hurt enemies. "What are we going to do?" Gloria asked.

"We should turn back to normal and transform again," Melissa suggested.

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Because we'll end up getting hurt again and it could be worse than now. Plus, everyone else is unconscious."

"We can at least heal ourselves and help everyone else."

"Yeah we can help the others but we have to stop Cyberdemon on our own. By the time everyone is awake, he'll be here. And we can't just give up."

"So what are we going to do? Transform back to normal or fight in the state we're in?"

"Well I guess we don't have much of a choice then. Let's do as you planned. But let's try to heal the others before he gets here."

Gloria and Melissa concentrated their energy and tried to turn back to normal. But they couldn't do it for they had used a lot of their energy to fight. They were too weak to move and transform. But then Melissa looked up and stared at something for a few seconds. "We're already too late."

"What?" Gloria turned her direction and saw Cyberdemon right in front of them. His rocket launcher was aiming right at them in close range. "No! How did he get here so fast? He was far away when I last looked."

"We used up our time transforming to ourselves and it evidently took more time than we believed," Melissa stated.

"But we can't give up now. We have to keep trying! We have to fight now! We can't allow Ation to take control of Earth!" Gloria yelled as she tried to get up but could barely move.

"Face it Gloria! We're going to die and the world will be in Ation's hands. We failed G. We failed," Melissa said in disappointment and distress.

"She's right Gloria! You and your weak team have failed. And now you will die and I will take over this world! Resistance is futile! Hahahahahahaha!" Ation finally shouted.

Gloria and Melissa tried to move but were too weak. Cyberdemon took his precious time to carefully aim the rocket at them. Gloria and Melissa closed their eyes and prepared themselves to die. But nothing happened. They heard Cyberdemon roar in pain. They opened their eyes and to their surprise, the beast's leg was bleeding from three large gashes. "What the hell?" Gloria wondered in confusion.

They saw a blur of black with green fire like markings. The black things then sunk its now visible pincers into Cyberdemon's leg. Cyberdemon roared in pain as blood seeped from the pincer marks. The monster that attacked the demon had eight legs with two ending in three claws. Its front body was in an upright position and at the end of its three large, spiky pincers were large fangs, curved toward each other. Gloria and Melissa watched in surprise and quickly recognized the spider like monster. It was their new allies, the Nerubians, the ones who helped defeat the Crypt Fiends!

More Nerubians showed up and attacked Cyberdemon. Then a stronger, ancient Nerubian appeared in front of Melissa and Gloria. It was the leader of the Nerubians, Narsebarian. "Art thou ok?" he asked.

"Yes, we…art ok. We need your—_thy—_help," Gloria responded.

Narsebarian nodded and held his hand out. Light surrounded all five girls and they were all healed in a matter of seconds. "You know healing spells?" Gloria asked.

"Yes," Narsebarian replied.

"Well, thank you," Gloria added.

The ancient arachnoid went to help his comrades. Gloria and Melissa finally turned back to normal and went to aid their other friends, who were still unconscious. But then Cyberdemon screamed in agony. Gloria and Melissa looked back and saw blue lizards and reddish horses blasting Cyberdemon with fire and electricity. It was the thunder lizards and fire horses. "How in the world did they all know we were in danger?" Melissa questioned.

"Maybe that damn thing's roar told them we were in trouble," Gloria guessed. "We can find out later."

Together, they did all they could to wake them up. Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica woke up simultaneously and returned to normal. Caitlin asked, "What's going on?"

"The thunder lizards, fire horses, and Nerubians are helping us," Melissa answered.

"And Craig." Gloria pointed at the black dragon that blasted Cyberdemon with a small ball of acid and then flew down to them. "Your boyfriends are no longer on the roof. They'll be arriving with backup in a few minutes," said Craig.

Before he could take off again, Ashley screamed, "No! Tell them to go back!"

"Don't worry! They're coming with lots of backup. They'll be sheltered from harm." Craig left without looking back. "What kind of support would they bring?" Jessica asked the others.

"We'll find out in a little bit," Gloria answered.

Then from a distance, they could all hear something like heavy armored machines coming towards them. Within seconds, a fleet of jets, bombers, and other types of aircraft filled the smoky sky with their roaring fuel-powered engines. Large, armored tanks littered the ground and encircled Cyberdemon. Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Jessica, and Caitlin saw Duke, Leon, Johnny, James, and Orlando riding atop a tank. They got off and headed towards them. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of well equipped soldiers ran towards Cyberdemon. The military and air force also started attacking. But Cyberdemon could not be stopped, even with the combined forces of fire horses, nerubians, thunder lizards, and humans. Cyberdemon was now on a rampage, smashing everything in his path, hitting anything in the air.

Johnny, Orlando, Duke, Leon, and James finally reached Ashley, Gloria, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa. The men looked exhausted but ok. They were happy to see each other, but there was just no time to exchange greetings. "Thank God, you guys are ok," said Johnny.

"Same for you," Caitlin added.

"Guys, there's no time to talk. All five of you have to stop this—this—thing!" Orlando reminded them.

"He's right. We have to concentrate on this fight," Ashley agreed.

Cyberdemon roared loudly after being blasted repeatedly from the fused force of rockets, fire, thunder, acid, bites, and bullets, making him far more angrier than before. He raised his hoofed foot and stomped on a group of fire horses and soldiers, smashing them like pancakes. But the relentless force of the allied attackers stopped him from doing it again. "What are we going to do? That thing's invincible! No matter what we do, we can't kill him!" Ashley sounded as if she had lost all hope for ever winning against Cyberdemon. Everyone else was starting to feel the same way, including Gloria. But Duke, Leon, James, Johnny, and Orlando were still filled with confidence. They knew that Gloria and the others could defeat Cyberdemon. And they weren't going to permit them to surrender.

"Guys, you can't lose hope now!" James yelled.

"But you saw what happened to us. We were nearly killed by him," Caitlin said.

"Yes, but we are counting on you. We believe in you. The fate of Earth and all that inhabit it lies in your hands. You have to protect Earth with your life. You got those powers for a reason. And that's to protect this world at all costs! We haven't lost faith in you guys. Just because Cyberdemon is ten times more powerful than you, it doesn't mean he's invincible. There's always a way. But you need to believe in yourself, or you'll never defeat your greatest enemy," Duke explained. "You're just going to fight enemies in the future that are 20 times more powerful than him. You're going to face stronger enemies but you must believe in yourself if you want to win!"

"We're all counting on you guys. All that dwell on Earth are your main priority. Nothing else matters! Not your homes, not your city, not even the entire state. You must protect the innocent, no matter what it costs to do so! This is it. This is your final battle and you can't just surrender. I may not know a lot about your powers, but I know you all have one special power than can kill Cyberdemon," Leon added.

"We're all right behind you. If we need to, we will fight alongside you. Whatever it takes to defend this world. Even if it means our lives instead of yours. We will not die in the hands of an evil person. We will die fighting!" Johnny yelled in confidence.

"Remember, we're here with you no matter where you are," James said with a smile.

"And we believe in you," Orlando added.

Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, Caitlin, and Jessica felt a boost of confidence inside them. They knew the five men were right and they weren't going to let them down. They would fulfill their destiny and defeat Cyberdemon and Ation and make sure they never returned to cause more chaos on Earth. With a boost of determination, hope, and confidence, Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica returned to their true forms and looked back at Cyberdemon. He still did all he could to try and get rid of his attackers but was so far unsuccessful.

Watching the combined attacks suddenly gave Jessica an idea. She knew there was only one spell that they haven't tried at all, since the day they got their powers. And this spell would need all of their strength to succeed. For if it didn't, then they've already lost the war.

But as Duke, Leon, Johnny, James, and Orlando had said, they can't surrender now; especially not after all they've been through. This spell was worth a try. The only problem would be that if they tried it, it would suck all the remaining energy they still had, rendering them powerless against Cyberdemon's onslaught (assuming he survived the spell). But it was a risk that they'd all have to take.

Jessica finally discussed her plan. "Gloria, I know what we can do, but it'll require a huge amount of energy from us all. Leon is right, you guys. We do have one special power that could be powerful enough to kill Cyberdemon, but it will use up all of our energy and if Cyberdemon survives this, then there's no way to fight back. Understood?"

Caitlin, Gloria, Ashley, and Melissa nodded their heads in reply. "Now let's teach this guy what happens when people like him mess with people like us!" Jessica yelled.

"Yeah!" Gloria, Caitlin, Melissa, and Ashley cheered in unison.

Gloria and Ashley activated a spell to protect all the people in the city, including Duke and the others, for a short amount of time. With Jessica and Caitlin on Melissa's back once again, the vampires and the dragon flew into the sky. They all stretched their hands out and together, yelled at the top of their lungs, "Eblak'ono zaliljr polakl ono fik larjq zalijx sareid!"

Without warning, a thunderstorm formed above the city, cracks appeared on the ground, rocks rose from the ground, winds became stronger, and it became very cold. Thunder crackled in the sky and the ground spewed hot lava from the cracks on to the streets. Rocks jutted from the ground like knives and the winds were very powerful like the winds of a tornado or hurricane. Ice started to literally form spontaneously from the North as lava came from the South, freezing some of the street and looking like a swarm of insects. Then water from the ocean nearby became waves, colliding with the city, and darkness descended upon the city. Terrified screams filled the air, creating an atmosphere of terror and worry in Tranquility. But luckily the people of Tranquility couldn't be harmed.

All seven elements got closer to Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica. They formed a sphere of elemental powers right in front of them. The lava, thunder, ice, wind, water, rock, and darkness continued to terrify everyone. Even Ation himself was scared. The five girls could literally feel their rage come from their hearts and enter the sphere to give it more destructive power. The sphere nearly reached Cyberdemon's neck. He took a few steps back. Before it was fired, the girls had to say one last thing. "You took innocent lives Cyberdemon!" shouted Caitlin.

"And you put us through hell," added Ashley.

"Now you go to Hell!" Gloria exclaimed with all the anger released.

Then the massive elemental sphere was finally fired into an almighty beam of elemental power, blasting Cyberdemon with full force. The thunder, lava, waves of water, darkness, chunks of earth, and ice that was causing destruction on the city also blasted Cyberdemon. Winds filled with hard rocks blasted him.

Cyberdemon screamed in agony as electricity electrocuted him with more volts than ever before, as fire burned with great intensity like the sun's fire, as ice froze him with extreme cold like the frosty Arctic or Antarctica, as many rocks hit him like a collapsing cliff, as wind, combined with other elements, caused even more pain, as water relentlessly smacked into him like waves, and as darkness enveloped him, preventing him from seeing anything and hurting him as well. A gargantuan explosion shook the earth. A blast so big, the blast started to envelop anything in its path like an atomic bomb. A powerful force exploded from the explosion, destroying anything it touched.

The explosion cleared, which destroyed nearly half the city. Thankfully nobody was hurt. The elements returned to where they came from. Lava sunk into the cracks, the thunder clouds started to clear, the ocean and winds became calm again, the ice started to melt slowly, the darkness disappeared, and the rocks stayed where they were. But remnants of their destruction were still in the city.

The great beast named Cyberdemon, the one who caused much destruction, the one who took innocent lives and killed allies, the one who very nearly killed Gloria and the rest of her team, was finally gone. He was nowhere to be seen. He had exploded along with the elemental sphere. Any other parts that remained of him turn into ash like an invisible fire was burning it away. People started to come out of their destroyed hiding places once they saw the monster killed. They all saw Caitlin, Jessica, Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa stand where they were, exhausted from the powerful spell. Then they all started cheering for what they had done. "We did it," Gloria said in a happy somewhat weak voice. "We finally defeated Cyberdemon."

Many people came out and stood on the streets in front of them. They cheered loudly, grateful for what Gloria and the others did. Duke, Leon, Johnny, James, and Orlando joined the people and cheered along with them. The fire horses, thunder lizards, Nerubians, and military also cheered. They stood right next to them. "Wait a minute," remembered Gloria.

"What?" Ashley asked.

"Whatever happened to Ation? I thought I saw him get off Cyberdemon before he was killed."

"He would've died alongside his so-called 'great creation,'" finished Caitlin.

But he was spotted on a rooftop, hiding and hoping he wasn't seen. Melissa grinned along with the others. She flew towards the rooftop, grabbed Ation with her feet, and dropped him near her friends. She transformed back to human as well as the rest of her friends.

Ation rolled in front of a very angry Gloria. Ation stared at her frightened. She gave him the same menacing grin he had giving them, making him more scared. He tried to get up and run but the crowd of people gave him angry looks as well. He knew that he was surrounded. He was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and was picked up. He faced Melissa's furious face. "Well, well, well, look at the great Ation now," she said. She tightened her grip on his shirt collar. "Now you're going to pay for all the hell you've put us through. There will be no mercy for you where you're going."

She threw him a few feet away from her. "How the hell did you survive?" Gloria demanded.

"I know you created a shield for everyone, so you gave me a shield like you did for everyone else," answered Ation.

Gloria looked at him in deep thought. "Yeah, figures." Ashley and Gloria hadn't perfected their spell. For now the shield would shield every one rather than the ones they preferred: the innocent.

Caitlin summoned thin strong vines from the ground to hold him in place so he wouldn't escape. The vines wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles. But even so, he tried to get away.

Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Jessica and Melissa smiled in triumph and, in joy, ran to James, Orlando, Johnny, Leon, and Duke. They embraced each other tightly, happy to be alive. Gloria and James hugged for a few seconds and then James asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire before?"

"Well, I wasn't sure what you'd do if I told you. I thought you'd turn me in if I did," Gloria responded.

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm a vampire and I didn't really think you could live with that."

"That's it? G, you know I like vampires just as much as you do. So why on Earth would I hate you?"

"Meeting a _real _vampire is a different story."

"True, but then again its also cool. Don't worry G. I'll get used to you being a vampire. Besides, you should know that I'll love you with all my heart, no matter what."

Gloria smiled and said, "I love you."

"I'm just glad you're ok. I don't know what I'd do if you were killed. You're a good fighter and leader," James commented.

Gloria looked into his gray eyes and brought him closer. They both kissed each other with passion in their kiss, not caring who was watching or anything like that. Gloria rested her head on his chest, calming down after her hard fought battle.

Duke embraced Melissa for while. "Thank God, you've survived. I can't believe you finally defeated that thing. But how come you never told me about your other form?" Duke questioned.

"I figured the dragon was enough. I thought the other form would just freak you out. Just until you got used to the dragon," answered Melissa.

"You know what I told you before. I don't need to tell you again. Besides, if you never used that form, whether you were in front of me or not, you and the others would've died. And I'm glad that you guys are alive. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," Duke clarified.

He pulled her gently closer to his face and gave her a passionate kiss. They kissed for a brief moment like Gloria and James. Then Melissa rested her head on his chest like Gloria, relaxing after a long hard fought day.

Caitlin and Johnny left go of each other a while ago. Then Johnny questioned, "How come you never told me you were a pirate?"

"Because I thought you'd hate me if I told you," Caitlin answered.

"Why would I hate you? If I liked playing as a pirate, then why do you think I'd hate you being a real pirate?"

"_Acting_ as a pirate is cool but _meeting_ a _real_ pirate is another thing."

"Yes, but knowing you're a pirate is awesome. Besides, you know I'd love you no matter what. I'll never hate you, even if you are a pirate."

"Really?"

"Of course. I can live with the fact that you're a pirate. You'll always be the love of my life."

"Oh yeah! Kiss me you sexy beast!"

She threw her arms around him and kissed him with all the love and joy in her heart. He returned the kiss. After several seconds, she stayed where she stood, finally happy to be with Johnny and to be alive.

Leon and Jessica had long since let go of each other. Leon was relieved for Jessica to be alive and well. "I'm so glad you're alright. I thought I lost you back there."

"Well, I survived. I thought I was going to die back there as well," Jessica admitted, her memory flashing back to when she, Melissa, and Caitlin were about to be hit with Cyberdemon's rocket.

"I never knew you fought so well. And I never knew you knew such powerful spells. I should be more careful around you."

Jessica smiled. "Well it was your saying that helped us win, when you said 'I know you all have one special power than can kill Cyberdemon.' If you hadn't said that, we wouldn't be here right now."

Leon smiled. He never knew that one saying could help win a fight, along with some help. He looked at her straight in the eye. Their lips touched one another and like everyone else, kissed for a few seconds. They put their arms around each other and remained that way, happy to be alive and happy to be together. "I love you Jess," Leon said.

"And I love you too," Jessica said.

Orlando and Ashley hugged for a few more seconds and then let go. Then Orlando looked at Ashley and asked, "How come you didn't tell me of your vampire form?"

"I believed you wouldn't accept me anymore if I did tell you and you wouldn't feel comfortable," Ashley responded.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Knowing a vampire could be scary enough for some people but falling in love with someone who is vampire could be scary, if not, uncomfortable for most people."

"It doesn't matter what you are though. You're the love of my life and nothing is going to change it. Did you honestly think I'd hate you for that?"

"Yes."

"Ashley, you know I would never do something like that. Yeah, it'll take a while for me to get comfortable with your form, but I'll get used to it eventually."

"So you don't have a problem with that?"

"No. I'll get used to you and your friends' real forms."

Ashley smiled happily. Orlando placed his soft lips on hers. He kissed her with all the love inside his heart. They kissed for a few moments and she rested on him, tired of her and her friends' long fight.

After their brief moment of peace with their lovers, someone approached Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Melissa, and Jessica. It was a young man, probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He was light-skinned, had brown eyes, and dark brown hair. He was wearing a gray suit with a red blue striped tie and brown shoes. "Hello boys and girls," the young man greeted, not at all afraid of the girls. "You were the five girls who killed that horrible monster who was terrorizing our city, am I not correct?"

"Yes, you are correct," Gloria answered.

"As you should already know, I am Tyler, mayor of Tranquility City. And I wanted to say thank you for saving us all."

"You do?" asked Caitlin. She didn't know why but she expected negative comments from him.

"Well yes. You guys, with those other monsters and the military, risked your lives to help protect us. You were very brave back there. And as mayor, it's my job to make sure this city remains a safe place. So…would you mind becoming our great guardians?"

"We'll be honored to protect this city," Gloria agreed, approving the mayor's plan.

"So you're not going to kill us?" Caitlin questioned.

"Heaven's no! Why on Earth would we kill you after you helped us?"

"It's a long story," responded Ashley.

"We should also fix this place up," recommended Jessica.

"And we will," Gloria added.

"We thank you again for saving many lives," Tyler continued.

Right after Tyler said that, a wave of guilt and sadness gripped the new-found guardians' hearts. They felt guilty for not being able to save everyone, but also felt satisfied with saving the majority of the city. They all put it aside. The five girls then smiled, proud of their first victory.

Then Narsebarian, Thunduro X, and Lukorva advanced towards them. "We thank you guys for helping us," thanked Gloria, grateful of their saviors who saved them from very near death.

"It's the least we could do for you helping us," said Thunduro X.

"We shalt stay nearby to help thou protect thy city," uttered Narsebarian.

"And in return, we shall protect you and your kind," Jessica added.

"We thank you for helping us." Lukorva showed his gratitude and happiness by whinnying and kicking his front legs into the air. "Don't mention it," Melissa said, stroking Lukorva's soft yellow fur.

Narsebarian, Thunduro X, and Lukorva gathered the rest of their kind and finally went home after a long day. Then a black dragon hovered in front of Gloria and the others and landed with his two back legs only. He stood tall in front of them, looking down at them, grinning with acid oozing from his jaws. "Hey Craig, we wanna say thanks for helping us," uttered Melissa.

"You're quite welcome," Craig said, licking the acid from his jaws. "I should be on my way."

"Where are you going?" Ashley questioned.

"I'm flying south for a while," Craig explained. "There's a clan of monsters far away from here that's willing to train me. So I won't be back for a while."

"Well, good luck," Melissa said, giving him a little salute.

Craig bowed his head a little, turned his back on them, and got prepared to take off. Before he did, he reminded Melissa, "You owe me a rematch."

She grinned and said, "Then I'll be waiting."

Craig returned her smile and took off. Before he completely disappeared, he took one last glance at his home city. Then he vanished completely. Caitlin stretched and shattered the moment of silence that had settled in. "Ok, I think it's time to finally go home."

But Gloria felt something missing. Something else hadn't been done just yet. They weren't finished and they weren't going to leave without completing their last objective. "Sorry Caitlin, but we're not done. We have one more thing to do." Gloria looked behind her and stared at the still struggling Ation. Caitlin removed the vines when Gloria got a hold of his shirt. "Well, well, well, look at the almighty Ation now. It seems your reign of revenge is over—" Gloria said it with intimidation in her voice.

"—and _my_ reign of revenge begins," Melissa finished, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. She brought him close to her face, close enough for her to feel his hot, panicked breathing. "I'm going to show you what _real_ revenge is all about. But this time, there will be no mercy! I'm going to put you through the same hell you put us!"

Melissa dragged him behind her as she, her friends, and their boyfriends walked home after a final end to war.


	27. Back to Good Times

Chapter 26: Back to Good Times

* * *

2 years later…

* * *

"Case number five hundred and thousand seven hundred and sixty-six…ten," Gloria began. "The jurisdiction is we the state VS Melissa Avalo on the murder of Ashley Montes. Mrs. Avalo, did you kill Ashley Montes?" 

"Yes," Melissa answered.

"Why did you kill her?"

"Because she ate my sour—er—my sweet and sour chicken."

"She ate your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yep."

"Why did she eat your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Because…"

Gloria started to laugh a little. "Is that it? Because? That's your answer? Because?"

Melissa smiled as she answered. "Yep."

"Anyways…so she ate your sweet and sour chicken. Where exactly did you guys eat Chinese food at?"

"Chinese restaurant."

"What was the Chinese restaurant's name?"

"Chinese restaurant."

The recorder stopped before Gloria could continue. Melissa signaled her to stop. "I gotta press record," she said.

"Well hurry up," Gloria commanded.

Someone opened the door. It was Duke, coming to see what they were doing. "What are you guys doing?" he asked.

"We're doing a court case," Melissa replied.

"Yeah, Melissa murdered Ashley," Gloria added.

"Mind if I listen?" Duke asked.

"No, we don't mind," Melissa said.

"Can you please click record?" Gloria whined.

"Alright goddamn it! Hold your horses!" Melissa shouted.

It has been 2 years since Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica defeated Ation and Cyberdemon. Ation had died nearly a year ago from Melissa's torturous punishment. Gloria and Ashley weren't exactly like Melissa so they didn't participate in it. Caitlin and Jessica weren't the killing type-of people. So they weren't involved whatsoever. They had earned the title as the World's Guardians. Not only did they protect Tranquility, but the rest of the world as well. And now, there was more to the group. Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, Jessica, and Caitlin had married the ones they loved. And they shared their power with James, Orlando, Duke, Leon, and Johnny. Now James and Orlando were vampires, Duke was a silver dragon, Leon was a warlock, and Johnny was a pirate. They too were blessed with eternal life like when Gloria and Ashley gave Jessica, Caitlin, and Melissa eternal life. But they could still die from something happening to their heart, except by natural causes.

Craig had not yet returned from his journey south. He was also now an official member. As for the thunder lizards, fire horses, and Nerubians, they once again flourished the land and were in peace with humans, although they did encounter a few conflicts now and then. Ashley, Jessica, Caitlin, Melissa, and Gloria also had new homes in Tranquility and the jobs they had wanted since they were younger. Or at least some of them did. Gloria was now a lab tech in the TCPD lab. Ashley was still taking classes to be a doctor. Caitlin was still taking classes to be a marine biologist and an actress, but was now a seal trainer. Jessica was still taking classes to be a pediatrician. Finally Melissa was taking classes to be a vet but was already an artist and author.

Today, Gloria was at Melissa's house, sleeping over like old times. While they're adults, they still have the kid in them. They sometimes acted as if they were teenagers. Jessica, Caitlin, and Ashley were busy doing something else. Both girls were in Melissa's room, using the sound recorder that was in Melissa's laptop. It was approximately 9:00 PM. Melissa finally clicked record and Gloria continued. She also pretended to sound irritated. "Yes! I know it was a Chinese restaurant, but what was the _name_ of the restaurant?"

"Chinese restaurant," Melissa answered again.

"Ok." Gloria gave up. "Where was this Chinese restaurant at?"

"In China."

"You guys were never in China."

"We weren't?"

"No! You were in Chinatown in LA."

"Ok. So we were in Chinatown in LA."

"Mrs. Avalo, are you insane?"

"Maybe." Melissa said it the way Fat Bastard from "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Austin Powers: Goldmember" would say it.

"Are you sure? For killing your best friend over SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN!"

"No."

"Did you kill Ashley Montes?"

"No."

Gloria groaned, annoyed. She was not faking it this time. "But did she eat your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yes."

"She ate your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yes!" Melissa was getting annoyed herself from answering the same questions.

"And you killed her?"

"No."

"What if she ate your fried rice? Would you have killed her too?"

"No."

"Just your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yep."

Gloria raised a brow. She tried to contain her laughter, but couldn't do it. She started giggling as she spoke. "Wh—why the sweet and sour chicken?"

"Because it was my chicken!" Melissa exclaimed, pretending to be angry.

"It was your chicken?"

"Yep."

"It was _your_ sweet and sour chicken."

"It was MY SPECIAL CHICKEN! I spent a dollar on it!"

Gloria stayed silent for a brief moment. "Ok…A dollar well spent."

"Yep," Melissa agreed.

"So…what did she have to eat?" Gloria asked.

Melissa thought for a few seconds. "Rice and noodles…and tea."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"What did you eat?"

"I ate crab and fish and shrimp and sweet and sour chicken and rice and noodles and beef and broccoli and…"

"Chow mien," Gloria whispered to Melissa.

"…chow mien and that's it," Melissa added.

"Why did she only have noodles and rice and tea?"

"Because she only had—twenty bucks."

Gloria was silent again and started laughing again as she continued to converse. "How much did the rice cost and how much did all of that cost?"

The recorder stopped before Gloria could say "how much did all of that cost?" "Hold on G. I gotta press record again," Melissa declared.

"Goddamn it! Keep an eye on that thing!" Gloria ordered.

"I'm sorry!" Melissa yelled. Melissa had previously forgotten to press record in the other things they had recorded.

"For heaven's sake, I'll keep an eye on it!" Duke offered.

"Ok," said Gloria.

Duke clicked record and Gloria asked the same question. "How much did all of that cost?"

"I dunno. I didn't pay the bill," responded Melissa.

"How much did yours cost?"

"Over fifty bucks."

"Over fifty dollars?"

"Yep."

"How much was the beef and broccoli?"

"I dunno."

"So explain to me. How did she eat your sweet and sour chicken?"

"She took it while I was eating it."

"She took it out of your mouth?"

Melissa's eyebrow rose. "No! She took it out of my plate."

"What did she grab it with? Chopsticks?"

"No."

"Fork?"

"No."

"Spoon?"

"No."

"Knife?"

"No."

Gloria ran out of ideas. "Stick?"

Melissa looked at her as if she were weird. "No."

"What?"

"Her hands."

"Oh, my God." Gloria said it like it was a dramatic moment. "So she took your sweet and sour chicken?"

Melissa was sick and tired of answering that question. "Yep."

"With her hands?"

"Yep!"

"And she ate it?"

"Yep!"

"Ok…So she ate your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yes!"

"How when—how much sweet and sour chicken did she eat before you killed her?"

"All of it."

"All if it?"

"Yep."

"So she ate your _dollar_ sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yep."

"Couldn't you just get another sweet and sour chicken or just say 'hey why are you eating my sweet and sour chicken? I paid a dollar for it, not you'?"

"No."

"Why didn't you say that?"

"Because…"

"It was your sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yep."

"Just _your_ sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yep."

"Why didn't you share with her? Why didn't you just let it pass by?"

"Because she's too ugly."

"How was she ugly? She had a boyfriend, she had ten kids—"

"Excuse me, she looked like a guy! She was growing hair!"

Gloria and Duke started cracking up as well as Melissa. "Will you please state that to the jury again?" laughed Gloria.

Melissa stopped laughing for a while. "She was growing hair in unnecessary places!" Gloria and Duke started laughing even more. "Not those kind of private places."

The recorder stopped as Gloria, Melissa, and Duke continued laughing. Once they had all calmed down, Duke pressed record and Gloria continued. "So……but she had a boyfriend and she had ten kids and you killed—"

"Holy crap! She had ten kids?"

"Yes."

"How many?" She was smiling as she answered that question, fooling around again.

"Ten kids! I just told you that!" Gloria laughed for a bit and went on. "So she had ten kids and you killed their mother because of SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN!" She sounded like she was trying to make a point.

"Yep," said Melissa.

"Was she on drugs?"

"No."

"Were you on drugs?"

"No. She was taking marijuana." Melissa said marijuana the way Mr. Mackey from "South Park" said it. The j in marijuana wouldn't be silent. She and her friends preferred to say it that way.

"I just asked you if she was on drugs and you said 'no'."

"Your point?"

"So she is taking drugs—_was_ taking drugs."

"No."

"She was taking nothing?"

"Yes."

"What was she taking?"

"Marijuana."

"She was taking marijuana?"

"Yes."

"So—she did take drugs?"

"No."

"Ok…She took drugs, people. Okay."

"Nu-uh."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Maybe."

Duke pressed record as soon as it stopped again. The recorder would only record for a minute. Someone had to constantly press record if they wanted to add more. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Gloria asked again.

"No," replied Melissa.

"Yes or no?"

"No!"

Gloria then realized her mistake and started laughing at herself. Duke and Melissa laughed with her but also gave her a strange look. Gloria was just laughing strangely. "What the heck?" Melissa finally questioned her while she continued to laugh weird.

Gloria finally stopped and went on. "Anyways—how did you kill her? With a chopstick?"

"No," Melissa replied.

"With what?"

"A spoon."

"You killed her with a spoon?"

"No."

"What did you kill her with?"

"A plate."

"You killed her with a plate?"

"No."

"Your Honor?"

Gloria was whispering to Melissa to play the judge. Melissa deepened her voice a little more and spoke. "Yes?"

"She's claiming that she was killing her with these many objects. I want you to tell her that she did kill her."

"Mrs. Avalo you did kill her!"

Unknown to her about what to do next, Melissa sat there, waiting for Gloria to ask her a question. "Say ok," Gloria ordered in a quiet voice.

Feeling stupid, Melissa said, "Ok."

"So you did kill her?" Gloria inquired yet again.

"Yes."

"You killed her?"

"No."

"You didn't kill Ashley Montes?"

"Yes."

"Because of sweet and sour chicken?"

"No."

Gloria narrowed her eyes, looking at Melissa in confusion. "Then of what?"

"Because of sweet and sour chicken."

Silence settled in for several seconds. "Oh—kay……You, Mrs. Avalo, are one crazy person!"

"I know. Hehehehehe!"

"Coo-coo's nest! Coo-coo, coo-coo. Ok……so you did kill Ashley?"

"No."

"Damn you," Gloria cursed in a low voice, tired of Melissa changing her answers. Melissa giggled a little. She seemed pleased to annoy Gloria. "Who killed her?"

Melissa thought for a few seconds. "A black guy."

"A black guy killed Ashley Montes?" Gloria asked with laughter in her voice.

"Yes."

"Why did he kill her?"

"Because she was white."

Gloria chuckled again as she spoke. "Ok. So it was a racist thing?"

"No."

"Ok, so why did he kill her?"

"Because she was a girl."

"So…it was genderish?"

"No."

"Then why did he kill her?"

"Because…"

"Ok—Your Honor?"

Once again Melissa deepened her voice and said, "Yes?"

"I want that to be stricken from the record immediately because Ashley Montes was not killed by a black guy and she was not white, she was orange." Gloria, Melissa, and Duke did their best to contain their laughter. Gloria spoke again with laughter in her voice. "Ok?"

"Ok," said Melissa.

"Mrs. Avalo, was she or was she not orange?"

"No, she was blue."

"She was blue?"

"Blue."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Stop talking like the judge!" Gloria said, chuckling some more.

"Oh," Melissa said, not realizing that her voice was still deep.

"So she was blue?"

"Yes."

"She was blue?"

"Blue."

"She was not orange?"

"No."

"She was blue?"

"Yes!"

"Blue?"

"Yeah!"

"So he killed her because she was blue?"

"No."

"So why did he kill her?"

"Because she was extremely very, very, very, very white."

"You just said she was blue."

"No I didn't."

"Mrs. Avalo, I'm trying to be honest and caring towards you and—"

"You're not caring, you loser!"

"I won't be talking—"

Duke signaled Gloria to stop since the recorder was about to end in a few seconds. Once it stopped, he clicked record again and Gloria finished her sentence. "—Murderer! Crazy, psycho, coo-coo nestor, pest…cha!"

Melissa was thinking of a comeback. "Chocolate freak."

"You're a chocolate dude."

"You're a chocolate…homosexual."

"So are you!"

"Nu-uh."

All three of them started laughing again at Gloria and Melissa's little comebacks. "I just want the record to know that I'm not homosexual. Neither of us are. Ok, this is—this is the editors we're talking where, um, homosexuality, it does not occur in this case." Lowering her voice she added to Melissa, "Say it doesn't."

"It doesn't," Melissa repeated.

"Ok, so back to the trial. So Mrs. Avalo, you did not kill Ashley?"

"No."

"So she's not dead?"

"No."

"She's pretty much alive?"

"Yes."

"She's in the backyard right now?"

"No."

"10 feet under?"

"No."

"Or 6 feet?"

"No."

"How many feet?"

"I dunno."

"An inch?"

"No."

"Please Mrs. Avalo, tell me the truth."

"500 feet."

"Wow, that's pretty deep."

Melissa laughed a little again and so did Gloria. Duke didn't seem to get what was funny. "How long did it take you to dig it?" Gloria questioned.

"A sec—a minute," Melissa replied.

"A minute?"

"Yes."

"Wow. Amazing. Modern technology huh? Your Honor, I think we should come to the verdict. On December 14th…" Gloria trailed off when she realized that she had chosen Ashley's birthday. She cursed to herself in a barely audible voice. "It's her birthday. Damn it!"

"Oh well," Melissa said in a barely audible voice as well.

Gloria continued laughing yet again. "December 14th—"

Melissa picked up where she left off. "On December 14th, 2—"

The recorder stopped for the last time. Duke pressed it once again and they went on. Gloria gave Melissa the year it was and Melissa started over again. "On December 4—on December 14th, 2400, Ashley Montes was murdered by Melissa Avalo."

Silence settled in. Gloria shook her head in disappointment. She was waiting for Melissa to say "Has the jury reached a verdict?" but she said nothing. She told her to say it and Melissa, feeling stupid again, added, "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

In a high-pitched voice, Gloria answered. "Yes we have your honor."

"Let's hear it."

"Ok! We the jury of the United States of England—"

Gloria started cracking up. "It's America, you dumbass!" Melissa corrected her. She, along with Duke, started laughing loudly as well.

"Ok. Of _America_, have come to the verdict that Melissa Avalo is guilty for killing Ashley Montes. But we really think it's Ashley Montes who killed herself because we didn't find any reason for her to be killed so uh…yeah. But we're gonna let Melissa go back into the real world because we think she's a real civilian and a real citizen of the United States of England." Melissa and Duke didn't get why Gloria said England again. Either she thought it was funny or forgot to change it to America. "So we just wanna say good luck Melissa going out into the big world! Good luck Melissa going out into the big world!" She lowered her voice and added, "I just said that two times." Then changed back to her high-pitched voice and said, "So what do you have to say for yourself since you're a free woman?"

Melissa changed her voice so that it sounded like she was whining like a baby. "I wanna go to jail."

"But I thought you just said you didn't want to go to jail."

"What the hell's wrong with you! I wanna go to jail!"

"But—but…ok."

"But but what?"

"Ok, so we do find Melissa guilty of all charges because she did kill Ashley Montes."

"No, I didn't."

"So she will go to jail. Thank you. That is our verdict."

Then Gloria sang in a little melody. "Bye-bye and good night from People's Court."

She and Melissa said "People's Court" in all sorts of different voices. Then after saying it about six more times, Gloria said it like an opera singer. They laughed a little and Gloria added, "And…next with these messages."

"Ok. Buh-bye. Buh-bye! See you later!" Melissa said in the speaker. The way Melissa said "buh-bye" made Gloria laugh some more.

Duke finally clicked stop. "Aw man, that was funny," Melissa commented.

"Yes it was. By the way, G you messed up when you were saying the verdict," Duke pointed out.

"I know. I said United States of England," Gloria admitted.

"Yes you said that again but not only that. You also said Melissa was guilty at first and then said she will go free."

"Oh…..oh well. Doesn't matter."

"Right….Anyway, I'm going to go and watch some TV. What are you guys going to do?"

"We're going to stay here and record some more."

"Jeez, you guys have been using that thing since 5:00 PM. Don't you guys get tired of using that?"

"No. This is fun," responded Melissa.

"Then I'll leave you too to your little recording fun." Duke got up and exited the office, closing the door behind him. "This is probably our best one," uttered Gloria.

"Yeah! This one kicked booty," added Melissa.

"Kicked booty?" asked Gloria.

"Yes. Kicked booty. You have a problem with that biznatch?"

"Why do you say biznatch?"

"Dunno. It's better than saying bitch."

"Riiiiiight……let's just do another one."

Gloria and Melissa spent the rest of the night recording more things. They created more trials, skits, and other things. They had fun for the rest of the night while Duke did his own things. But they didn't know that their times of fun would soon come to an end. For a new enemy was going to arise. And this enemy would prove to be the deadliest that they will face in their lifetime.


	28. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Well, it seems like we have chosen correctly this time," Slifer noted. "And nobody seems to try to kill them like the others."

"Yes," Tranquility said. "They have become heroes rather than enemies to everyone else. Even the loves of their lives don't see them as enemies. All the other people we have chosen were hated by everyone when their secret was discovered. But they have shown everyone that they do not wish to harm anyone."

"Though they do need to pay off the damage," Slifer added. "But they have grown over the years and have used their powers wisely."

"Yes but we mustn't think they're out of danger," Tranquility said.

"And why is that?"

"Because there are many dangers out there. And I know that there are more enemies, each more powerful than the last."

"Well, we can't really do anything. All we can do is hope for the best. Besides, they're virtually immortal. They can only be killed by a stake or bullet or something through the heart. And the girl Gloria is a superior leader. She can lead Caitlin, Jessica, Ashley, and Melissa to victory. But we must help guide them to the right direction. One wrong turn and it can mean their lives."

"But we can't forget the other new people named James, Johnny, Orlando, Leon, and Duke. They are new but they're powerful nonetheless."

"True. I'm sure that Gloria, James, Caitlin, Johnny, Jessica, Leon, Ashley, Orlando, Melissa, and Duke can protect the world from danger."

"But what of the new kid Craig?"

"Well if he joins the team, then he can help protect the world."

"And if they fail?"

"If they fail……then we must choose more people."

The cloud showing them Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, Jessica, Leon, Spike, Caitlin, Duke, Jack, and Orlando disappeared in front of Slifer and Tranquility. They didn't believe that they would be defeated very fast. But they did believe that a new enemy would show up and try to kill them.

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this story. It might've been odd when it came to some chapters, I admit, but I hope that they were still good. The sequel "Warfare of the Almighty Gods" will be up soon. 


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